Rice Field Duck Hunting, Managing for Wildlife and Way of Life

Overview

This week, Cal heads to a waterfowl mecca – California’s Sacramento Valley. He’s joining his friend Sean Doherty and local guide Scott Feist for a mixed bag hunt in the heart of the nation’s largest agricultural area. The rice fields they’ll be hunting provide habitat for migrating waterfowl outside of the planting season. The conservation efforts involved have allowed native ducks, geese, and shorebirds to return to the area without removing the need to grow food and make a living. Questions remain for the imperiled salmon that once swam the Sacramento floodplain, but the same water that grows food and brings in birds could very well bring back the native fishery too.