How Do Pop-Up Wetlands Work?

south route that extends from Alaska to Patagonia. The program, dubbed Bird Returns, has been in development by the Nature Conservancy since and is helping conservationists deal with the short term needs of migrating birds. Because of urbanization, agriculture, and climate change, the migrating birds have less access to wilderness

to mate, feed, nest, and rear their young. At the same time, project gives farmers the opportunity to support conservation efforts and maybe earn a little extra money without negatively impacting crop production. During February and March of the pilot season for the program, just two percent of Sacramento Valleys, some five hundred thousand acres of rice fields, and that's around two hundred thousand hectares were turned into shallow water

for shorebird habitat. That season, the pop up wetlands supported more than a hundred and eighty thousand birds, representing fifty seven different species. On average. The researchers found three times more bird diversity and five times greater density on rice patties that participated in the program compared to unenrolled fields. Migrating animals, like shorebirds are in jeopardy as their ranges

cover vast swaths of land. A study published in the journal Science in reported that just nine percent of over one thousand, four hundred migratory bird species had access to protected areas for all the stage of their annual cycle. In California, in particular, of original wetland habitat has been

lost to agriculture and urban development. Since the Nature Conservancy was founded in ninety one, it's worked to conserve habitat by working with landowners to purchase land or permanently limit the use of their land in order to maintain its wildness. Each agreement is worked out individually, a process that's expensive and can take months or years to develop. For the article of this episode, is based on how stuff works. Spoke with Mark Reynolds, PhD, the lead scientist for the

Nature Conservancy's California Migratory Bird program. He explained that he and his colleagues, including Sandy Matsmoto, the team's project manager, and Eric Halstein, the team's economist, thought that the demand for purchasing migrating bird habitat could far exceed their resources. Quote. We were looking at our habitat needs and thinking how do we buy our way to success us? Sandy said, do we need to buy land for the whole year?

It looks like the animals needed part of the time. Eric, with his background and economics, said we could do a reverse auction. I said, a reverse What? A reverse auction overturned the conventional role of buyer and seller. Instead of buyers competing to outbid each other to obtain a good or service, as sellers compete to offer their goods or

services to one buyer at a competitive price. And the sellers in this case are the owners of rice fields, which are typically farmed in California from April through August or May through October. During the growing seasons. The fields are normally flooded, but they're also flooded during the off seasons to decompose the rice double after harvest, Reynolds and his colleagues saw an opportunity to work with the farmers

to provide temporary wetland habitat for shorebirds passing through. So in early the Nature Conservancy issued an invitation to rice farmers to submit bids that itemized their costs to flood fields for four, six or eight weeks at a time beginning in February of that same year. The farmers set their own prices and the Nature Conservancy was able to select the highest quality habitat for the lowest total cost. They repeated the process in the fall often then every

year since then. Housta Works also spoke with John Brennan, a partner at Brennan Jewitt and Associates, a firm that manages rice sales for the Robbins Rice Company. He explained that the farmers are very receptive to this concept quote and to the extent that they can get their costs

covered to do it. They're even more receptive because they see it as a something that they're excited about and a way to make an environmental difference and be something that really helps secure the longevity of the rice industry

in California. To figure out where and when shore birds most needed wetland habitat for their migrations, Reynolds and his colleagues worked with experts at Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology, which collects information about birds through its citizen science project The Bird. This online checklist allows bird enthusiasts across the country to tabulate the kinds of birds they see, when

they see them, how many, and where. Using data from eBird and grant money from NASA, the Cornell team built high powered computer models that predicted, at weekly intervals, the presence and abundance of birds at different locations. From these models, Reynolds and his colleagues created maps to visualize and prioritize where and when habitat was needed most. But once they knew the locations, they requested bids from the local rice farmers,

and they adjust the program based on weather conditions. During times of drought, the Nature Conservancy would pay more, and during times of excessive rain, it would pay less. When they extrapolated the potential costs for the project out and they found the highest possible cost per year based on the average bid, was one point are million dollars, but

that's significantly higher than what the Nature Conservancy actually paid. Meanwhile, the estimated cost to restore rice fields to wetland habitats equal to that land area would cost around twenty five million dollars, and maintenance fees would come in and about a hundred thousand dollars a year. So this seems like a win win, But the researchers stress that these pop up wetlands are tools and not meant to replace permanent protection.

If the land switched from rice farming to some other use that wasn't compatible with seasonal flooding, another protection strategy would need to be considered. For now, though rice farming and bird conservation are working hand in hand, Reynolds said, we're engaged with this community of farmers and thinking about a lot of other ways to conjoin farming and environmental benefits.

Today's episode is based on the article pop up Wetlands Helping migrating shorebirds on house toff works dot com, written by Tracy Steeter. Brain Stuff is production by Heart Radio in partnership with how stuffworks dot com, and it is produced by Tyler Klang. For more podcasts from my heart Radio visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.