Flood-Irrigated Grass Hay Agriculture

Maintaining the West’s Green Ribbons

Flood irrigation in the snowmelt-fed West supports forage production for livestock.

It also provides the majority (58 percent) of temporary wetland habitat in the Intermountain West, despite only accounting for 2.5 percent of the region’s irrigated footprint. This means that a small handful of private landowners are providing a large portion of important wetland habitat in this semi-arid region.

Flood-irrigated grass hay agriculture is located predominantly in riparian floodplains and mimics natural flooding cycles, providing ecosystem services that promote climate resilience and wildlife benefits. As a result, ranching in many parts of the West has become deeply intertwined with ecosystem function. But as water scarcity impacts agricultural operations throughout the region, these wetland habitats are increasingly at risk of drying.

Flood-Irrigated Habitat in the Southern Oregon Northeastern California Region and the Klamath Basin

Of wetlands located in the Southern Oregon Northeastern California (SONEC) region, 74 percent are located on privately owned working agricultural lands. While some of these wetlands are flood-irrigated to raise grass hay for livestock, others, especially in the Klamath Basin, are flood-irrigated to produce grain and other crops. Together, more than six million migratory birds rely on these irrigated agricultural lands for successful migration and reproduction each year.

Klamath Basin Farming

Our Practices

Keeping flood irrigation on the landscape, especially during critical times like spring bird migration, is important. The IWJV works to accomplish this by:

Telling the story of flood-irrigated grass hay wetland habitats

We collaborate with and support agricultural organizations, irrigators, and livestock producers that manage flood-irrigated grass hay meadows in showcasing their contributions to migratory bird habitat conservation. We also help practitioners and decision-makers access, interpret, and apply the relatively new body of science that articulates the value and function of flood-irrigated grass hay wetland habitats.

Supporting the modernization of flood irrigation infrastructure.

Our science helps identify lands with potential high migratory bird value where replacing old infrastructure with new, easier-to-use flood irrigation infrastructure would help producers improve forage production and habitat via more timely spring flooding. We support the development of funding pools focused on flood irrigation modernization in key landscapes to ensure these projects are evaluated against each other rather than in statewide pools prioritizing irrigation efficiency. We also bring together groups with shared values (fisheries communities, land trusts, agricultural groups) to leverage multiple funding sources to ensure conservation success.

Accelerating the pace of conservation easements.

By identifying lands with high migratory bird values and resilient water resources, we can work collaboratively with land trusts and other entities to protect land through conservation easements. We support the Natural Resources Conservation Service and land trusts to increase the pace and scale of easement implementation through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program. We also communicate the benefit of conservation easements that protect high-value and resilient habitat for migratory birds.

additional resources

Explore the Tools Driving Conservation Impact

Wetland Benefits of Flood Irrigation

This 2024 body of science and supporting materials shows flood-irrigated hay meadows mimic natural hydrology and support critical wetland habitat.

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Intermountain Insights

A breakdown of science highlighting how flood-irrigation can sustain wetland habitat by mimicking natural hydrology.

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Working Wetlands Explorer


This interactive, Google Earth Engine-powered tool maps flood-irrigated hay meadows and associated wetlands across the region.

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Wetland Evaluation Tool (WET)


Track changes in surface water over time with this dynamic tool, designed to support landscape-scale conservation.

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