From CapRadio – The impacts of a wet season in California can be far-reaching — they’re dangerous and can be destructive. But the water dumped on the state is essential to supplying some 40 million Californians with everyday necessities and bolstering the state’s billion-dollar agricultural industry. There’s another essential but easily overlooked benefit to an exceptionally wet winter. The Yolo and Sutter bypasses were designed for flood control, diverting water and, in turn, creating a floodplain. It’s great for us humans, but it’s also a feast for wildlife. It’s easy to notice the abundance of birds hanging along these waterways on their annual Pacific Flyway journey, but underneath the surface, millions of juvenile salmon are bulking up for their trip to the Pacific Ocean before coming back to freshwater to spawn. (more)