The Pacific Flyway and Central Valley Wetlands Sample Clauses

The Pacific Flyway and Central Valley Wetlands. The Central Valley lies at the southerly end of the Pacific Flyway migratory route. In pre- settlement times, it provided ideal wintering habitat and attracted large numbers of waterfowl. The Pacific Flyway is the westernmost of North America’s four flyways, or migration routes, which are defined as definite geographic regions with breeding grounds in the north, wintering grounds in the south, and a system of migration routes in between. The Pacific Flyway encompasses territory in three countries: northern and western Canada, Alaska and all states west of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S., and western Mexico. The Service ranks Central Valley wetland habitat as one of the top five habitats in the U.S. Historically, the Central Valley contained approximately 4 million acres of wetlands. Approximately 1.5 million acres located in the Sacramento / San Joaquin River Delta and the Tulare Basin were permanent marshes, while the remaining 2.5 million acres were seasonal wetlands created by winter rains and spring snow melt from the Sierra Nevada. Today, approximately 300,000 acres remain; 100,000 acres are publicly owned (federal and state 1 This EA determines that the project would not cause a substantial change in the human environment and thus does not require preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement.