Willow Creek-Lurline Wildlife Management Area facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Willow Creek-Lurline Wildlife Management Area |
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IUCN Category IV (Habitat/Species Management Area)
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| Location | Glenn and Colusa Counties, California, United States |
| Nearest city | Willows, California |
| Area | 5,795 acres (23.45 km2) |
| Established | 1985 |
| Governing body | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
| Website | Willow Creek-Lurline Wildlife Management Area |
The Willow Creek-Lurline Wildlife Management Area is a special place in the Sacramento Valley of California. It's a very flat area, surrounded by the Sierra and Coast mountain ranges. Nearby, farmers grow lots of crops like rice and other grains.
This area was created to protect important homes for waterfowl (like ducks and geese) during the fall and winter. It does this by working with private landowners. The land itself is not open to the public for visits.
Protecting Wildlife Homes
The main goal of the Willow Creek-Lurline Wildlife Management Area is to make sure there are enough wetlands for waterfowl. Wetlands are like marshy areas, full of water and plants, which are perfect for these birds to rest and find food.
The area protects these wetlands by using something called a "conservation easement." This is a special agreement where landowners agree to keep their land as wetlands, even though they still own it. This helps protect the birds' habitat for a long time.
How Big is the Protected Area?
The plan for this wildlife area covers about 20,000 acres (about 81 square kilometers). A big part of this land, around 12,000 acres (49 square kilometers), is privately owned and used for waterfowl hunting.
So far, conservation easements have been set up on about 6,000 acres (24 square kilometers). This means that on these lands, owners have agreed to keep them as wetlands, which is great news for the birds.
Why Wetlands are Super Important
Wetlands in the Central Valley of California are extremely important for waterfowl that travel along the Pacific Flyway. The Pacific Flyway is like a superhighway in the sky that birds use to migrate (travel) between their breeding grounds and their winter homes.
About 44 percent of all waterfowl that use the Pacific Flyway spend their winters in the Sacramento Valley. Over the last 100 years, about 95 percent of the wetlands in the Central Valley have been lost. This means the birds rely even more on the wetlands that are left, like those protected by the Willow Creek-Lurline Wildlife Management Area.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
