Central Valley Flood Protection Plan and Conservation Strategy

Project Summary

Working with the California Department of Water Resources, Integral staff helped develop the Conservation Strategy for the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan, integrating ecosystem function into the state’s long-term floodway, levee, and bypass management.

Location: Northern California

Challenge

The State of California needed a science-based approach to improving river and floodplain ecosystems while maintaining flood management infrastructure across the Central Valley. Building on the 2012 CVFPP Conservation Framework required extensive agency consultation, dedicated conservation planning for multiple at-risk species tied to flood management activities, and a response to the ongoing risk posed by invasive plant species in the flood system.

Our Role

Integral staff provided leadership, technical expertise, and content through in-depth consultations with DWR and other resource agencies, preparing 17 focused conservation plans for special-status at-risk species, including the Swainson’s hawk, western yellow-billed cuckoo, least Bell’s vireo, bank swallow, Chinook salmon, steelhead, riparian brush rabbit, and giant garter snake. The team also developed an Invasive Species Management Plan describing the state’s preferred approach to managing invasive plants in the flood system, culminating in the release of the draft CVFPP Conservation Strategy.

What We Delivered & Results

The completed CVFPP Conservation Strategy identifies issues, sets goals and measurable objectives, and describes methods for restoration and implementation across multi-benefit projects, with the 17 species-specific conservation plans now used to prioritize flood management projects and maintenance activities focused on improving hydrologic and geomorphic processes and habitat connectivity.