The Woodland Regional Park Preserve is a 160-acre parcel in the southeast corner of Woodland, just east of Road 102 and south of Road 25. It is the newest park in the county, and still in development. The City of Woodland and a partnership of local nonprofits, including Yolo Audubon, have worked for several years to put it together. It is not yet open to the public, but its combination of wildlife habitat improvements, emphasis on nature education, and close-to-home location will make it well worth visiting.
The dominant feature of the site, a pond in a former borrow pit, has been excavated deeper to make a year-round home for diving birds. Its edges have been graded to make seasonal wetlands and mudflats for shorebirds and waterfowl. A well is now available to keep the pond wet when rainfall fails to do so. Community volunteers, including Yolo Audubon, planted native trees and shrubs along the north and east edges of the pond, and native herbs and shrubs on the west end. Away from the pond, vernal pools, alkali prairie and their rare plants will be protected with a permanent conservation easement.
The preserve is gradually getting birdier. eBird reports 114 species in the last two years, mostly through the effort of YAS member Zane Pickus and the crew that checks nest boxes. Yolo Audubon mounted fifteen nest boxes on poles last year, and our members check them every week in the nesting season. Results are most encouraging. As of this writing, four boxes have tree swallow eggs and six others have nest material, so there could be ten swallow nests in all before the season ends. California Waterfowl Association put up several nest boxes for wood ducks, though the ducks have yet to show. The site also has a red-tailed hawk nest with small chicks, and a loggerhead shrike nest may be active.
The public access and nature education effort includes a paved walkway along part of the shoreline of the pond and an informational kiosk. A docent training handbook, in both Spanish and English, is in the works. As grant money comes in, there will be a three-mile trail through the uplands and eventually a nature center, to include classrooms, a science laboratory, and an exhibit/conference room. The center would offer formal and informal education for people of all ages, attracting classes from local schools, supporting citizen science, and training docents.
Your participation is welcome, especially as the pandemic and its restrictions fade and the preserve opens to the public. See the City of Woodland website for how volunteers can help.
Michael Perrone, YAS Conservation Chair