Report: CA Wildlife Refuges are Thirsty
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Los Banos, CA - California's scarce fresh water supplies are scaring away the birds, according to a new report from Defenders of Wildlife. The report lists the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge as one of the nation's top ten "Refuges at Risk," because its wetlands are becoming less "wet," year after year. This isn't healthy for the thousands of birds that use the refuge, or for water quality for people nearby. Noah Matson with Defenders of Wildlife stresses the need for water.
"If you're gonna have wetlands, you need water. They simply can't compete with the demands of agriculture and increasing urban areas for water on the open market."
San Luis is part of the Pacific Flyway, as a stopover and wintering ground for ducks, geese, and cranes. Matson says the solution is to allocate more water for natural wetlands, which isn't easy with the competition for scarce supplies. Some argue the wetlands are disappearing naturally, and that more water won't preserve them. But Matson counters that there is scientific documentation to confirm why many California wetlands have disappeared. He says in most cases, they've been drained to make room for development.
"We've lost over 95 percent of historic wetlands there, which were extremely important for migratory birds and other wildlife. Really, those National Wildlife Refuges are almost all that's left."
To read the new "Refuges at Risk" report online, visit www.defenders.org.
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