YOLO COUNTY, CA (MPG) - The Yolo Bypass is a series of weirs and levees providing flood protection for surrounding communities.  Within the bypass and in the shadow of the State Capitol is the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area. This wildlife area supports wetland habitat and wildlife friendly farming. It is open sunrise to sunset except Christmas Day or if it is flooded. In the winter, hundreds and thousands of migratory waterfowl arrive.

On Thursday, January 6, 2022, at 7 p.m., Flyway Nights, a speaker series hosted by Yolo Basin Foundation, brings Wildlife Area Manager Joe Hobbs to discuss the “Current Status of the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area.” Joe Hobbs will give updates on ongoing research projects conducted in the Wildlife Area, the pollinator field project by River Partners and CA Waterfowl Assoc., continued bridge and canal work by Ducks Unlimited, Motus towers to study birds, and other projects.

Joe Hobbs has been the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area Manager since 2018. Previously, he was the Statewide Elk and Pronghorn Coordinator. During his 21 years with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, he has worked in the wetlands program, timber harvest review, and the private lands management program. He also worked for the Department from 1992 to 1997 in Wildlife Management as a student assistant while going through undergraduate and graduate school at California State University, Sacramento. Joe completed his M.S. on the Fall and Winter Distribution and Habitat Use of the Tule Greater White-fronted Goose in the Sacramento Valley.

Flyway Nights is a monthly speaker series highlighting environmental issues, natural history of Northern California, and current research topics in conservation. Yolo Basin Foundation hosts Flyway Nights the first Thursday of the month from November to April through virtual presentations. The presentation will be via Zoom. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link to the presentation.

A $10 donation to support the Foundation’s wetland education programs is suggested. For the complete schedule and to register, visit www.yolobasin.org/flywaynights or call Yolo Basin Foundation at (530) 757-3780.