Tuleyome's Science Corner - Habitat Types at the Woodland Regional Park Preserve

Kristie Ehrhardt • March 22, 2023

What was once a literal dump, has been transformed into a regional treasure under the guidance of Tuleyome and the City of Woodland. With support and input from stakeholders, educators and other local non-profits, the 165-acre Woodland Regional Park Preserve (WRPP), which previously hosted the City of Woodland refuse disposal site, has been remolded into a living classroom boasting a variety of habitat types found less and less frequently in our urban environment.


The upland grassland habitat occurs on the northern portion of the site. Topographically speaking, this is the highest portions of the site and supports native and non-native grasses and forbs as well as some trees. Wildlife species such as coyotes and upland birds have been documented in the upland habitat areas. The only water this portion of the site receives is rain water so is typically brown and dry in the hot summer months but green and alive with plants and wildlife during the wetter portions of the year. This area provides dry places for denning and foraging as well as nesting opportunities for ground nesting birds.


The riparian forests of California are sometimes called the “rain forests of California” because of the huge diversity they support. The riparian habitat onsite at WRPP occurs adjacent to the seasonal and perennial wetlands and along connecting drainages. Typical species found here include Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii), valley oak (Quercus lobata) and willow (Salix spp.) species along with California buckeye (Aesculus californica), blue elderberry (Sambucus mexicana) and coyote bush (Baccharis pilularis) to form a multilayer canopy. This dense canopy provides year-round cover for many species including: great-horned (Bubo virginianus) and barn owls (Tyto alba), red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), western bluebirds (Sialia mexicana), tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys), common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis), Pacific gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer), racoon (Procyon lotor), western pond turtles (Actinemys marmorata) and many other species terrestrial and aquatic species.


Wetlands have their own ecosystems made up of hydric soils and hydrophytic plant species and are classified into types such as seasonal or permanent depending on how long they remain wet, what the soils are composed of and what type of vegetation they support. The seasonal and perennial wetlands on site at WRPP provide vital habitat for migrating waterfowl coming through the Pacific Flyway. Wetlands also produce oxygen, sequester carbon and filter toxins from the water that recharges our underground aquifer. As the name suggests, seasonal wetlands are only wet for part of the year with soils that remain waterlogged for long periods of time. The emergent vegetation that grows in seasonal wetlands is specialized for soggy soil conditions and includes cattails (Typha sp.), bull rush (Scirpus acutus), sedges (Carex sp.) and rushes (Juncus sp.). Floating vegetation such as duckweed (Lemna sp.) or water primrose (Ludwigia peploides) can also be present. Eventually they dry and become cracked basins with little to no once-lush vegetation. Perennial or permanent wetlands stay inundated year-round and typically have open water with some aquatic floating or emergent vegetation around the edges of the water where the soil transitions from ponded to waterlogged. The vegetation provides cover for fish and wildlife species that may use the open water as part of their habitat. Species observed in the open water includes various waterfowl species such as mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos), wood duck (Aix sponsa), American coot (Fulica americana) and many other waterfowl species.


Vernal pools are specialized seasonal wetlands. They are depressions in soil that has an underlying hardpan layer and typically don’t drain well. Because the underlying soil doesn’t drain, water from rain collects in these depressions and ponds until the rainy season is over. Vernal pools provide habitat for highly specialized plants and animals; many of them are listed as special-status species. While the pools are inundated, seeds from vernal pool plant species begin to germinate and aquatic invertebrate species begin to hatch. Vernal pool invertebrate species survive the dry period, sometimes for hundreds of years, as cysts in the soil and don’t hatch unless the conditions are right for them. The word “vernal” is a Latin word that means “spring” and as the pools begin to dry down, usually beginning in the spring, many colorful rings of flowers may appear in concentric circles around the sides of the depression. Vernal pools also provide habitat for a variety of other aquatic invertebrates, amphibians are an important source of food for waterfowl and shore birds.


Tuleyome was able to show off the amazing ecosystems at WRPP during the Spring Thing on March 18. Visitors had the opportunity to go on guide hikes showcasing the wetlands, birds, mammals, and "wild areas" of this urban "wilderness".


If you would like to learn more about WRPP, please visit Tuleyome’s website at https://www.tuleyome.org.


-Kristie Ehrhardt (kehrhardt@tuleyome.org)


Tuleyome Land Conservation Program Manager

RECENT ARTICLES

Wildfires and California Oaks – Nature and You Lectures

By Geoff Benn • October 7, 2026
Blue oaks on the Berryessa Peak Trail. Photo by Geoff Benn. Our September Nature and You speaker was Tuleyome Education Associate Geoff Benn, who gave a lecture on one of his favorite subjects, California’s amazing oaks. In the lecture, Geoff discussed how California’s oaks evolved and how they deal with a range of challenges, including drought, fire, and diseases. If you missed it, be sure to check out his talk here. 

Welcome Interns!

By Geoff Benn • October 7, 2026
Interns Deana Martinez, Yaquelin Gonzalez, Gabriella Limon, Ben Hubbard, and Keira Lazaro at Woodland Regional Park Preserve. Tuleyome is excited to welcome our largest ever cohort of interns, including four Horticultural Interns and one Communications Intern! Our Horticultural Interns are paired with volunteer mentors at Woodland Regional Park Preserve where they learn about managing invasive plants and monitoring populations of rare native plants. This year’s mentors are Jennifer Hogan and Teri Barry, both longtime volunteers and leadership team members at the Preserve. Our Communications Intern works closely with Program Director Nate Lillge to shape and execute our communications, including social media, e-newsletters, and more. Keep reading to meet each of our interns: Horticultural Intern Yaquelin Gonzalez has lived within the bounds of Sacramento County her whole life, where her mother’s garden and love for rock collecting sparked her appreciation for nature. Her desire to enter the environmental field was further fueled via nature-based field trips during elementary school. After high school, she began studying at American River College and eventually transferred to the University of California, Davis in 2025 to study Environmental Science and Management, focusing on Ecology, Biodiversity, and Conservation. Here, she has gained an interest in soil science as well as plant ecology and hopes to pursue a research career in restoration ecology. In her spare time, she likes to go on nature walks, play the guitar, read, bake, and listen to podcasts. Horticultural Intern Ben Hubbard grew up in Roseville, California where he spent a lot of time outdoors with friends, competing in sports, hiking, as well as instructing elementary school field trips about the environment, specifically wetlands. He just recently transferred from Sierra College to the University of California, Davis and is working towards completing his Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and Management with a specialization in Ecology. When he completes his education, he hopes he can make a difference in the world and help to preserve wildlife and natural land for the next generation to enjoy as much as he has. When he’s taking a break from studying you can find him practicing with his recreational sports team, grabbing a coffee, hiking, enjoying a good story, or just hanging out with friends. Horticultural Intern Keira Lazaro is a third year undergraduate at University of California, Davis where she majors in Environmental Toxicology. She’s specializing in pharmacology and biotechnology with hopes to work in a research lab on specific pathogens that attack native California crops. She is also a part of the University Honors Program in Davis and is taking the first couple of steps towards her fourth year signature work on the oxidation chemistry behind electronic cigarette devices, specifically with exposure in indoor environments. Keira grew up in Los Angeles County and hopes to find a career in Southern California once she graduates. When she is able to go back home she spends most of her free time at the beach or hiking. Communications Intern Gabriella Limon grew up in Bishop, California, within the Sierra Nevada and Owens Valley where she became connected with wildlife and stewardship. She spent her later teenage years in Southern California and committed to the University of California, Davis, where she is currently pursuing a Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning with a focus on conservation management. In addition, she is also a scholar staff member of the UC Davis Women’s Resources and Research Center where she provides STEM-based programming and academic support to students of marginalized identities. Gabby is especially passionate about wildlife justice, land protection, and environmental education. She spends her free time writing, playing video games, tide pooling, hiking, and logging critters. Horticultural Intern Deana Martinez grew up in Arbuckle, California, surrounded by rice fields and almond orchards, which grew her interests in agriculture. She is currently in her 4th year at the University of California, Davis, where she is pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Entomology with a Soil Science minor. Along with classes, she is involved in a Nematology research lab, working with plant parasitic nematodes and their interactions with common crop systems in California. She has also held a student position with the Plant Biology research greenhouses as a technician for the past 3 years. Outside of school and work, Deana enjoys hiking, reading, and spending time with her family.

Policy Corner: California Fights Back on Endangered Species Protections

By Shai Demus • October 7, 2026
California’s condors and sea otters are two of conservation’s great comeback stories – species that were once on the brink of extinction and have rebounded thanks in large part to the Endangered Species Act (ESA). That 50-year-old law is now facing one of the most significant rollbacks in its history, and California is fighting back in court. Last week, Attorney General Rob Bonta, joined by a coalition of 21 state attorneys general, filed two lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s recent changes to the ESA. At the center of the fight is a single but enormously consequential change: the administration rescinded the longstanding definition of “harm” under the Act – a definition that, since the early 1980s, has made it illegal to destroy or damage the places endangered species live, breed, and feed. Without it, habitat destruction itself may no longer count as illegal “harm” to a species, even though most biologists agree habitat loss is the single biggest threat facing endangered species today. The changes don’t stop there. The administration is also making it easier for federal agencies to avoid designating “critical habitat” for at-risk species, and it has eliminated automatic protections for newly-listed threatened species – meaning wildlife officials must now write custom protection rules for each species one at a time. That’s a heavy lift for an agency that has reportedly lost more than a third of its staff, and which currently has 400 species waiting for a protection decision. Why this matters here at home California is home to more threatened and endangered species than any other state. It’s natural to assume the state’s own Endangered Species Act would fill any gap left by federal rollbacks – but legal experts point out that California’s law, as written, doesn’t clearly protect habitat at all. It primarily prohibits killing or injuring individual members of a listed species, not damaging the places they live. That means the very thing under threat federally – habitat protection – may not have a reliable backstop at the state level either. What this means for our work At Tuleyome, so much of what we do, protecting oak woodlands, wildlife corridors, and watershed habitat across our region – depends on the basic principle that a species' home matters as much as the species itself. A condor or a Clear Lake hitch can’t survive court-ordered protection from hunting alone if the habitat it depends on is quietly bulldozed, drilled, or logged out from under it. This lawsuit is about defending that basic principle at the federal level, and it’s a reminder of why local land protection and legislative advocacy matters now more than ever – because the safety net above us may have real holes in it.