One of California’s greatest environmental success stories has been the partnership between Sacramento Valley rice growers and wildlife managers to support wintering waterfowl. Farmers have shown they can make good money in the off-season by flooding their harvested fields to grow ducks and geese — attracting fee-paying hunters.

Now, research underway in the Yolo Bypass suggests they can grow salmon, too.

Recent studies indicate the bypass would make a fabulous salmon nursery at relatively little cost to Yolo County’s farming.

Experiments at the Knaggs Ranch rice farm — funded by a consortium of private landowners, conservation groups and government agencies — show juvenile Chinook salmon growing at phenomenal rates, requiring flooding for less than two months in winter and early spring. Test fish in the field had better survival rates and fattened faster than those left to mature in the Sacramento River, earning them the name “floodplain fatties.”

When growers flood their fields of decomposing rice stalks they unwittingly generate lots of fish (and duck) food, namely zooplankton. Indeed, preliminary results indicate that young salmon grow better on rice fields than on unfarmed floodplains.

Seasonal flooding of farmland does reduce the growing season and crop yields. But if it increases salmon growth and populations, farmers in the bypass can be compensated — just as they are now for flood control easements, which also lower land rents.

A recent report found that the costs of sharing the bypass with fish probably would be relatively small. The UC Davis study, commissioned by Yolo County, found a “sweet spot” for flooding that gives fish enough growth time without greatly cutting into crop yields and farm profits.

Fields would be drained by late March, causing a yearly loss of roughly $1.5 million, or less than 1 percent of the total value added for Yolo County’s economy ($212 million in 2009). Extending inundations much further into spring would be a lose-lose proposition: too costly for farmers and too risky for salmon. (As the season progresses, the shallow floodwater becomes too warm for them to survive.)

This flooding scenario is consistent with one state officials are seriously considering — and presumably will pay for — as part of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. It calls for flooding no more than 6,000 cubic feet per second for 30 to 45 days in the winter. The bypass would be inundated for fish only in years when flooding in the river plain occurs naturally — which, historically, is about half of the time.

Levees in the Central Valley have all but eliminated the seasonal wetlands that served as food-rich rearing grounds for young salmon. Now, operators and contractors of the state and federal water supply systems are looking to increase seasonal flooding on riverside farms to help struggling fish populations. They are obligated under the federal Endangered Species Act to help offset losses of Central Valley Chinook salmon caused by operations of the giant water export pumps in the Delta. Paying farmers to grow salmon would be one way to restore populations.

Results of the recent cost analysis and the ongoing salmon-rearing experiment suggest that farmers in the Yolo Bypass can look forward to profitably farming for fish, as well as for flood control, ducks and crops.

— Richard Howitt is a professor emeritus of agricultural and resource economics with the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, a partner in the Knaggs Ranch experiments. Josué Medellín-Azuara is a center researcher who specializes in economic modeling of water systems.

First let me say that I’m not a firefighter, union member or follower of Davis politics. I’m an ordinary citizen who is retired and enjoys backpacking, building model airplanes and rebuilding old English cars for fun.

There’s been a lot of talk about reducing staffing levels for the Fire Department. During the discussion, it was often mentioned that Davis doesn’t get a lot of fires, as fire calls apparently amount to 1 percent of the call volume. Well, here I am, the 1 percent. The 1 percent who always thought of firefighters as a group of people who live down the street from me and are there for other people.

I feel compelled to write this article not because I have a particular cause, but rather to share with you what can happen to you if you are so unlucky as to join my wife and me in the 1 percent, and to point out how things will change with reduced staffing levels.

I came home from a week in the Sierra on July 9, 2012, and dropped my backpack on the dining table. My wife got home, parked in the garage and decided that since I’ve been gone for a week, we should go out to dinner. I agreed and hopped in the shower. Less than 10 minutes later, my wife came running in and yelled, “The garage is on fire.”

With the words still processing in my head, I grabbed my robe, ran down the hall and opened the door to the garage, thinking I could put the fire out. As it turned out, I couldn’t. The garage was already filled with flames. All I could do was to close the door, grab our dog and run outside. My wife and I stood outside helplessly holding our dog watching the fire consume our house. It seems a transformer that powered the yard sprinklers for some 30 years had failed and ignited the fire.

Within minutes (though it seemed like an eternity), a fire engine came screaming down the street. Firefighters went to work right away. They went inside a burning building and stopped the fire at the garage (I lost two of my beloved vehicles), but they saved everything else in my house. They carefully put all the salvageable items in an area so we could go through it later. They spoke with my neighbors to make sure we had a place to stay. They contacted a board-up company to make sure our house would be secured. They were there every step of the way.

As my wife and I get our lives back to “normal,” I’m still reeling from what had happened. On one hand, I know how lucky I am to have lost only “things” in my life. I’m beyond grateful for the fact that no one died or was injured. Yet as I sat sifting through the wreckage of the garage and the remnants of my life memories, barely recognizable in the ashes, I realized that the brave and professional conduct of the Davis firefighters on the scene had prevented the complete loss of our home.

I attended a City Council meeting where the staffing levels were being discussed. I sat in the back and listened to the discussion. Interim Chief Scott Kenley used the fire at my house as an example of how four firefighters might have made a difference as far as property damage is concerned. He went on to explain how if there were three firefighters on that engine, they may have to apply water from the outside and risk more property damage.

Not only do I agree with him, I will take it a step further and say that the four-person crew made all the difference in the world. If there had been the slightest extra delay awaiting the arrival of a fourth firefighter before entry could be attempted, the gas tanks in both burned cars would have gone off and the entire house and contents lost. The loss of the garage contents would have paled next to the total loss of all our belongings.

Unfortunately, despite many other professional experts’ convincing analysis and citizens’ personal testimonies on the importance of keeping four firefighters, the city manager went ahead and recommended to cut the staffing level and in the end, only Council members Dan Wolk and Lucas Frerichs stood up for what’s right. To see their motives for their votes questioned angered me. I would suggest that perhaps they are two council members who have carefully thought through the consequences of the intended reductions on the residents of Davis.

Some people may think it’s really no big deal if your house catches on fire, especially if the insurance would pay for it. Insurance has definitely given us the financial strength to rebuild. But no amount of insurance payout could compare to what our firefighters did for us that day. I may only be 1 percent of 4,600 calls, but I’m the 1 percent with a family, a history and decades of memories represented in various possessions that surround us in our home. I’m sure it is no different for you.

Thanks to our firefighters who were willing to risk their lives to preserve it for us, we still have many of those memories. If you think insurance is a replacement for superior fire protection, I can tell you that on an insurance form, the handmade fishing pole from your dad is worth $15. The hammer with his name carved in the handle will bring you $5, the priceless box of boyhood keepsakes in the rafters has no value at all.

I’m one citizen who knows what fire protection is worth. I’m glad two council members felt the same way. I dread the inevitable day that a three-person crew shows up at some desperate neighbor’s door and is forced to wait those critical few extra moments that will destroy someone else’s precious memories.

The shuffling shell game they have presented to justify the reductions may improve service somewhere for someone, but if you are in my neighborhood, it will mean a three-person crew will arrive and hold the line from outside until another crew arrives. In our case, it would have meant that my wife also would have lost much of what is dear to her. That, in a nutshell, is the difference we are being sold.

— Glen Byrns is a Davis resident.

sales, Davis:

“The Bible. I’m working on it.”

David Bonnar

environmental toxicologist, Davis:

” ‘Dune,’ by Frank Herbert. It’s a sci-fi novel.”

Kathy Wang

student, Davis:

” ‘Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.’ “

Greg Cotta

sports director at KDVS, Davis:

” ‘Catch-22.’ “

Melinda Ozel

FACS coder, Davis:

” ‘On the Road.’ “

Alice Zhang

student, Roseville:

“The Harry Potter series.”

Asked in downtown Davis

compiled and photographed by Anna Sturla

Every time we hear the wail of a siren, or jog past the fire station, or hear news of a local tragedy; we are thankful for our first responders, and in particular the firefighters in Davis.

There are only 36 firefighters in Davis who work in shifts around the clock to protect our community from all manner of danger — from fires to medical emergencies to traffic collisions.

It makes little sense why three City Council members recently sided with a small, but vocal, number of people in our city who have chosen to second-guess our firefighters and devise their own plan for how Davis ought to be protected. Under the guise of saving approximately $400,000 a year, some city officials have decided we ought to shuffle our firefighters like a deck of cards, repositioning them with smaller crews and a diminished ability to save lives and property.

A few hundred thousand dollars is nothing to scoff at, of course, but it deserves to be put into perspective. What is the cost of saving a family’s home, or an apartment complex or a business from complete destruction? What is the cost of saving a life? Or, more coldly, what is the value of $400,000 in balancing the city’s annual budget?

That one’s a bit easier to put a number on: it’s about 0.4 percent. With a city budget of approximately $100 million, $400,000 doesn’t make a dent. However, that amount of money could make a significant impact on a person’s life or livelihood.

What the debate at City Hall comes down to is this: Our city’s fire stations are each staffed by four firefighters and now they will have only have three. Davis has three fire stations. There’s one downtown, one in South Davis, and one in West Davis. Each is staffed by four firefighters working 24-hour shifts. With that staffing level, our Fire Department covers an area of 133 square miles that experienced nearly 4,400 emergency calls last year.

As our city continues to grow, we need more firefighters, not fewer. Indeed, as our city has grown over the years, the city has not added additional firefighters or an additional station since 1985! During the development of the Wildhorse neighborhood, the need for an additional fire station was identified but no changes were made. As a result, Wildhorse and other parts of North and East Davis are located outside the desired 911 call response time. Rather than addressing this problem, three of our City Council members voted to cut service by reducing the number of firefighters per shift.

The three council members voting to cut first-responder service to pre-1980 service levels merely provided lip service to the 911 response issue. Their answer is to “look at adding or relocating” the fire station in downtown Davis (where most of our community’s most valuable assets exist!) to North Davis, or finally building a new station someday in the future. Where will that money come from if the city is already in such dire straits?  They provided no answer to this question because they have no answer, as they know it likely will never happen.

In practical terms, decreasing our fire crews from four people to three, sadly, will mean more loss of property and potentially lives lost. There’s a safety rule imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that requires four firefighters on a scene before any can enter a burning structure. It’s called the “two-in, two-out” rule, and it’s there for the safety of the firefighters.

That means every time there is a fire in the city, the closest fire crew of three people will respond with lights and sirens, but  under the recently adopted plan, when they get there they will have to wait for another crew in order to do everything in their power to save the home or business.

Aside from this rule, common sense tells you that fewer firefighters responding to serious medical calls likely will result in less successful outcomes. Every council member admitted this proposal to be a reduction of service, noting that four firefighters at each station would be better than three. Nevertheless, three City Council members charged ahead to cut our most important public safety service — first response — because of budget cost pressures for other spending priorities such as potholes (as suggested by one council member).  We can think of nothing more important than public safety.

The city budget was the reason offered for this reckless action, and we believe the City Council should reconsider this decision during the adoption of its annual budget. Only then should a decision to save 0.004 of the city budget, and compromise the safety of Davis residents, be rightly compared against other city priorities. We believe the larger public has a right to see the choice between fewer fire and medical response services compared to a few fixed potholes.

Thank you to Councilman Lucas Frerichs and Mayor Pro Tem Dan Wolk for doing their homework and for their courage to stand up in the best interests of the safety of all Davis residents.

— Alan Fernandes, Lori Duisenberg, Gina Nunes and Sean Cowan are East Davis residents.

Learn more

What: Race and Social Justice in U.S. History student research poster presentation

When: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 15

Where: Davis High School Library, 315 W. 14th St.

What: Juneteenth Celebration

When: 1-5 p.m. Saturday, June 22

Where: Veterans’ Memorial Center, 203 E. 14th St., Davis

Time flies and change happens!

When the Race and Social Justice in U.S. History class at Davis High was approved in 2007, it was made clear that 29 students needed to sign up for a teacher to be funded. Actually, 108 students signed up that inaugural year, and three separate class sections were created.

This year there are seven class periods and three different teachers to accommodate student demand. Next year, there will be eight sections.

The Race and Social Justice in U.S. History class (RSJ) is an option to meet the graduation requirement for U.S. history. That first year, one less Advanced Placement U.S. history class was needed, as students surprised adults in that they valued less the extra grade point of Advanced Placement, and valued more this new opportunity to engage in rigorous inquiry and ongoing dialogue about a relatively taboo topic, with an unprecedentedly diverse set of their peers.

It was made clear to students that their year together would include not just acquiring the information presented in a traditional U.S. history class. It also would include the experience of building skills in cross-cultural dialogue and relationships, as small groups of students, whose members would be chosen by the teacher, would design and implement a research project throughout the year.

Students have certainly “spoken” with their feet about what they believe they need, developmentally speaking, to prepare themselves as adult citizens in our increasingly diverse country.

Their lesson to us: Young people are not afraid and, in fact, are eager to learn U.S. history from the lens of both non-white and white ethnic groups’ experiences in “becoming” American. Many students expressed that they needed to be equipped with the historical knowledge and interpersonal skills it will take for them to move forward in our unique but still racially and socially unequal democracy.

Now we can return our thanks to these students by attending their annual research poster presentation on Wednesday, May 15, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Davis High School Library, 315 W. 14th St. in Davis. This year’s topics for students’ group research projects include academic pressures, students and self-image, GATE in Davis, the achievement gap and Davis children’s gender stereotypes regarding career choice.

If you are able to attend, please make certain to thank the teachers as well. Kevin Williams, California’s 2005 History Teacher of the Year (Gilder Lehman Institute), accepted the challenge in 2006 of creating an intellectually rigorous and constructively provocative curriculum aligned with California state standards for U.S. history. That was no small feat.

Williams also incorporated two days of input from a Community Advisory Board of youth and elders, culturally representative of the racial/ethnic groups within our community and region. The Sierra Health Foundation funded part of this course’s development. Thanks to Williams’ excellence, the course also was approved as an A-G course offering, meaning it has the rigor to count as an admission prerequisite to California’s public four-year universities.

Teachers Fern O’Brien and Chris Lee also teach the course. For the May 15 presentations, students of Williams and O’Brien will create traditional scientific poster presentations, and will be present to explain and talk with visitors about their experiences and findings. Lee has his students create a YouTube video, depicting the import and results of research from each student group. They will join the other two classes of students in the library, seated next to their laptops, again willing and ready to describe their collective work and its implications for Davis.

I’ll end with the words of one of my heroes, Williams, again emphasizing the young people’s past, present and future impact in leading Davis adults in this critical issue: “You know, I am empowered and inspired by this class, too. I am particularly inspired by watching and learning from the students during the research portion of their RSJ project. When they get out in their community and truly begin to investigate the nature of any problem, you can actually see them understand the importance of history.

“The RSJ Project is kind of an ‘applied’ approach to the curriculum, and because of that, connections are made that would normally be lost in the history curriculum. Additionally, … I learn so much. I can’t tell you how many times I say to students, ‘This is interesting to me as a teacher, but even more as a parent of junior high-aged girls.’  The work they do is important and needs to be shared with the entire Davis community.”

Maybe we’ll see you on the 15th, maybe with your teenagers? It’s a great way to start a conversation with them about these important issues!

— Jann Murray-García, M.D., M.P.H., is a Davis parent and pediatrician. She shares this monthly column with Jonathan London. Reach her at jmurgar@comcast.net