Partners for Fish and Wildlife

Cooperative Conservation

The Partners for Fish and Wildlife (PFW) program was established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1987, as a way to look past the boundaries of Federal lands and to work cooperatively with private landowners. The PFW program offers a method for landowners to receive cost sharing and technical assistance when restoring natural habitat without signing a long term commitment. The program operates on a voluntary basis and focuses on restoring habitat that targets species of interest to the landowner and federal trust species. Local projects may range from wetland restorations, to stream bank stabilization, fish passage improvements, forest improvements, juniper removal and upland or rangeland improvements. The success of this program depends largely on the one-on-one relationships developed between the landowner and the Partners Biologist. Here at Modoc National Wildlife Refuge we strive to offer our landowners the best possible habitat restorations and pride ourselves on cooperating with our landowners to ensure that their needs are met along with the needs of the habitat.

Visit the Refuge

Modoc Wants You

Take advantage of the recreational opportunities provided by the Refuge system.

About the NWRS

National Wildlife Refuge System

The National Wildlife Refuge System, within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, manages a national network of lands and waters set aside to conserve America’s fish, wildlife, and plants.

Refuge Updates

• Comments Sought on Construction of Walking/Biking Access Trail

  The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and its partners are seeking public agency, interest group, and citizen input on the environmental analysis provided in the Draft MND and EA/IS. The 30-day comment period starts on February 4, 2016 and ends at 5:00 PM PST on Friday, March 4, 2016. You can find the full plan at the link below.

  Comments Sought on Construction of Walking/Biking Access Trail

• 80 Acres Added to Pit River Floodplain

  

  In coordination with California Waterfowl Association and local contractors, the Refuge has completed a large project converting the “North Grain Field” into floodplain along the Pit River. The new floodplain area adds to the previous 120 acres to create 200 contiguous acres of floodplain wetlands, which provide valuable resources to a variety of nesting and migrating birds. The project created a new channel for the river, which now meanders through the previous “North Grain Field”, emulating historic conditions of the Rit river. Tule’s were transplanted from the existing floodplain and moist soil plants were seeded into the new floodplain to promote a quick transition to a diverse wetland complex. The Refuge and it’s partners in the project are excited to see the results after all the hard work. We encourage hunters to have a look at the project.

  Floodplain Improvement

• Invasive Weed Geodatabase

  

  In 2012 Modoc NWR staff surveyed Refuge lands for 10 invasive weed species and created a geospatial database. This database will be a valuable tool to combat these nuisance species that threaten the integrity of Modoc habitat.

  Invasive Weed Mapping

• Wet Meadow Irrigation Improved at Modoc

  

  More than 50 years of consistent irrigation of the Sharkey field at Modoc NWR had eroded ditches and created a very inefficient, and sometimes ineffective, irrigation regime. In 2012 this issue was confronted in cooperation with California Waterfowl Association and a local contracting crew. Sheet piling and rock dams were installed in more than 20 of the eroded ditches to hold up and disperse water at higher elevations. Also, many of the eroded ditches were filled with material to decrease the amount of water needed to irrigate the field. The project was a huge success, and this technique will continue to be used in the future to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of irrigation in other wet meadows.

  Wet Meadow Irrigation Improvement