Related Agencies

• California Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Natural Resources Agency

Inland Wetlands Conservation Program

Overview

The Inland Wetlands Conservation Program (IWCP) was created to assist the Central Valley Joint Venture (CVJV) in its mission is to protect, restore, and enhance wetlands and associated habitats. The CVJV, a partnership of twenty two public and private organizations and agencies, has identified through its Implementation Plan specific goals to increase populations of six bird groups: wintering waterfowl, breeding waterfowl, non-breeding shorebirds, breeding shorebirds, waterbirds, and breeding riparian songbirds. The IWCP has a wide range of options to accomplish these goals, including acquisitions of land or water for wetlands or wildlife friendly agriculture, acquisition of conservation easements, restoration of public or private lands, or enhancement of existing degraded habitats. In addition, the program will work toward providing long term reliable water for wetlands and winter-flooded agricultural lands.

The IWCP jurisdiction matches that of the CVJV, and includes most of the watershed of the Central Valley. The Implementation Plan and the IWCP, however, continue to focus on the Central Valley floor, which extends approximately 400 miles from Red Bluff in the north to Bakersfield in the south and encompasses the following nine basins: Butte, Colusa, Sutter, Yolo, American, Suisun Marsh, Delta, San Joaquin, and Tulare.