Relationship to Water Management. The DFG used these salinities as guidelines for long-term management and maintenance of wetlands in Suisun Xxxxx. Xxxxxxx (1981) found these guidelines to represent the most saline water that can be applied regularly to well-managed seasonal wetlands without loss of alkali bulrush seed production. SRCD prepared water management plans for each of the 158 privately managed wetlands in the Xxxxx in 1980-81. Water management recommendations and vegetation goals in the plans are based on findings from Xxxxxxx' studies. In recommending water management schedules and improvements in both water and vegetation management, these plans take into account each ownership’s mean pond bottom elevation, external (slough) tide elevation range, water control facilities, soils, and habitat goals. SRCD recommends that the clubs periodically change their water management regimes to discourage the production of monocultures and maximize biodiversity in wetland habitats. DFG has prepared its own management plans for State-owned land in the Xxxxx, which follow a similar management regime and management schedules. In 1996, DWR and USBR agreed to fund a 2-year cooperative field study of the feeding ecology of waterfowl in the Suisun Xxxxx, sponsored by SRCD, DFG, USGS Biological Resources Division, and the University of California at Xxxxx. The purpose of the study is to identify foods consumed by northern pintails, mallards, and green-winged teal relative to foods available in early fall and early winter in the Suisun Xxxxx. Observation and collection of actively feeding birds began in 1997. Processing of the esophageal contents will begin in 1998. Although this study is limited in scope, its results will help update the existing information on waterfowl food preferences. Objective of Management Strategies on Managed Wetlands Management Strategies Most wetland managers in the Suisun Xxxxx begin flooding the wetlands on October 1 in preparation for the fall migration of waterfowl. To reduce mosquito production in the Marsh, Solano County Mosquito Abatement District does not recommend flooding before October 1, unless the landowner can flood and drain the wetlands within 10 days or is willing to pay for mosquito control spraying. When possible, wetland managers of the Suisun Xxxxx use gravity flow to fill and drain their wetland areas. Consequently, the wetlands are filled during high tide, when applied water salinity is the greatest, and the water can flow through the inlet gates (f...
