Dig Deeper into the CVJV's Work

Dive into details about the regions we work in, the habitats we work to protect and restore, the issues around our precious water and its impact on our work, as well as the bird groups and species we support.

Map of Central Valley Joint Venture's primary and secondary focus areas and planning regions.
Central Valley Joint Venture

Our action area

The Central Valley stretches 450 miles down the center of California, extending to the surrounding mountain peaks. The Valley provides some of the most important bird habitat in North America, hosting one of the largest concentrations of migratory birds in the world during the fall and winter.

The CVJV Planning Regions

The CVJV is divided geographically into a primary and a secondary area of focus. For landscape planning, the focus areas are further divided into planning regions. There are five planning regions in the Primary Focus area and three in the secondary focus area.

The Habitats that Make it all Possible

In the Central Valley, there are four major habitat types that are necessary to provide the breeding, foraging, resting needs for more than 100 million birds of approximately 400 species use the Central Valley during all or part of their life cycles

Keeping the Water Flowing

Overcoming the many challenges and ensuring reliable and affordable water supplies for wetland habitat management may be our greatest challenge. If we’re to meet this challenge, it is important to understand the historical and political context.

The Principal Bird Groups of the CVJV

Experts used the best available science to identify biologically-based conservation objectives for the eight bird groups in the Central Valley of California on which the CVJV focuses its efforts.

Other Considerations

Photo of the California State Capitol Building.

Policy

Public policy decisions, whether through federal or state legislation, regulatory agency rules or administrative action, historically have played a significant role in bird conservation efforts in California.

Photo of dry seasonal wetland at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area with swamp timothy and cocklebur.

Climate Change

Major shifts in climate patterns in the Central Valley, occurring now and projected to occur over the next century, will have profound effects on bird populations and their habitats.

Photo of a group of school children bird watching with binoculars.

People

Conservation is something that is done for, with, and by people. To serve the public, it is necessary to understand their interests. Therefore, it's critical to explicitly integrate human interests and motivations into conservation policies, programs, and actions.

Photo of eared grebe on water.

Multiple Benefits

Bird conservation actions that also provide direct benefits to human communities, such as groundwater recharge, improved water quality and enhanced access to recreation, build increased support for the CVJV’s efforts.

CVJV 2020 Implementation Plan