As the Manager of Environmental Affairs for the California Rice Commission (CRC), I was humbled to stand with our President & CEO Tim Johnson to accept the 2013 Partner of the Year Award from the Central Valley Joint Venture (CVJV) on behalf of the rice growers of California.
The CVJV (www.cvjv.org) is a collaborative group of highly respected conservation organizations committed to enhancing habitat values for birds and other wildlife species in the Central Valley. The current CVJV Vice Chairman, John Carlon of River Partners, and Coordinator, Bob Shaffer, presented us with the distinguished award.
I was truly honored with this recognition from the CVJV. In his presentation, Bob Shaffer talked about their long history with rice growers all the way back to the industry’s phase-down of rice straw burning and replacement of that practice with winter flooding. Much of this collaborative work pre-dates my tenure at CRC, which began in 2001. Since then so much has been accomplished to help increase habitat values in rice, a subject matter I have grown extremely passionate about.
We are now three years into a new program called the Waterbird Habitat Enhancement Program (WHEP) that supports the implementation of innovative new approaches to habitat enhancement in ricelands. It is now implemented on nearly 25 percent of rice acres (about 115,000 acres) thanks to the dedication and assistance of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and ongoing technical assistance from organizations like Audubon California, PRBO Conservation Science and the Nature Conservancy. Each of these three partners helps make up the broader membership of the CVJV. The CVJV has been solidly behind rice every step of the way towards greater habitat enhancement and I’m very pleased to have the CVJV’s support and recognition for the CRC’s ongoing commitment to habitat enhancement on its working ricelands.
The ongoing coordinating force of the CVJV certainly helps move the ball forward on wildlife conservation projects and awareness of the importance of this great Central Valley for millions of birds that reply upon it. We are honored to be considered one of its valued partners in these efforts.
Paul Buttner is Manager of Environmental Affairs for the California Rice Commission.
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