River Partners

When most people hear the word “farmer,” they picture conventional crops. But Heritage Growers Director of Farming Operations Mason Shorts is pioneering a totally different kind of agriculture: farming native plants at scale.

Mason oversees the massive task of growing, harvesting, and cleaning restoration-quality native seeds. From a handful of wild-collected seeds to hundreds of pounds of raw material, his work is helping to break the bottleneck standing between California’s landscapes and large-scale ecological recovery. And once a week, he walks each row on Heritage Growers’ 200-acre farm outside Colusa to collect data and take a detailed look at every single species.

Restoring California starts with the right seeds—and the dedicated people who grow them. From running quality control in the mill to modifying farm machinery through trial and error to sharing his expertise at public tours, Mason is helping Heritage Growers fuel California’s critical biodiversity and climate goals from the ground up.

“At the end of the day, we are not going to make the impact that is needed without large-scale seed amplification like this,” said Mason.

Read more about our Restoration Hero, Mason Shorts, here:

Restoration Hero: Mason Shorts - River Partners Restoring California starts with the right seeds—and people. Mason Shorts is both.

As Californians settle into our summer of 2026, a significant El Niño event is brewing in the eastern Pacific Ocean, and it could end up being one for the ages. Water temperatures are approaching historic highs, and, coupled with an already warming climate, experts predict a potentially very wet winter in California.

Climate scientist Dr. Daniel Swain sat down with River Partners for a two-part blog series on the topic. This month, he explains what this year’s El Niño is looking like, how it compares with past events, and what impacts it might have on communities across California. Next month, Swain will be back to explore how restoring rivers reduces flood risk, builds climate resiliency, and how California policymakers can help protect the state’s most vulnerable communities.

Read the first part of our two-part interview with Dr. Swain here:

A “Very Significant El Niño Event” Could Collide with California - River Partners Climate Scientist Dr. Daniel Swain unpacks the potential for a historic El Niño event in California this winter

The state’s summers are becoming increasingly hotter and drier—and the unique wildlife that call California home often have to devise ways to stay cool. In some cases, it’s a matter of survival.

In this month’s “Eyes in the Wild” series, we explore how wildlife adapt to heat and contribute to the health of California's unique ecosystems in all seasons. From the Sacramento River in the North State to sweltering Imperial County, find out how these species navigate hotter California summers—and how the riverways River Partners brings back to life help beavers, burrowing owls, and other critters thrive.

To read about how wildlife beat the heat in California this summer, please read our story here:

Eyes in the Wild: A River Partners Wildlife Journal – Summer Edition - River Partners A look at how wildlife species navigate and adapt to California’s summers

Two years ago, California did something it hadn’t done in over a dozen years when it added Dos Rios (just west of Modesto in Stanislaus County) to its ranks of state parks after River Partners spent a decade transforming former farmland at the confluence of the San Joaquin and Tuolumne Rivers into what is now a 2,100-acre restored floodplain and riparian habitat. Today, park visitors can enjoy recreational opportunities like hiking, biking, birdwatching, fishing, kayaking, river access, and photography.

At the helm when Dos Rios was officially announced as the newest state park on Earth Day in 2024, California State Parks Director Armando Quintero continues to be inspired by what it provides for wildlife and offers to human communities. Overseeing 280 California State Parks is a daunting task, but if anyone is equipped for the job, it’s Quintero. His passion for the deep, innate human connection to nature bubbles to the surface, and he isn’t shy about expressing his heartfelt sentiments when talking about his work and how state parks across California impact nearby communities.

Quintero reminds us that water is a fundamental issue in California and that it would behoove more Californians to increase our understanding of the water picture in our state. A good place to start is in a place like Dos Rios State Park.

Read our Q&A with California State Parks Director Armando Quintero here:

Newest State Park in Over a Decade Celebrates Second Anniversary - River Partners California State Parks Director Armando Quintero Reflects on the Impact of River Partners’ Crown Jewel Restoration

Proud to be part of this effort, clearing way for an overflowing San Joaquin River to fill the historic floodplain at Great Valley Grasslands State Park!

Our regular “Eyes in the Wild” series typically shares wildlife sightings spotted at restoration sites, but we want to highlight something at our Chico office, where we have a small native plant garden that features native plants. These relatively tiny habitats can be vital for wildlife, especially pollinators, and there are even programs that recognize home gardeners (search online for “National Wildlife Federation native plant habitats”). Safety and Office Administrator Mona Dagy planted milkweed plugs here five years ago. Year after year, she and our Chico staff waited to spot one. When the moment finally arrived, Associate Restoration Scientist Jeremy Dustin saw this beautiful butterfly and snapped this photo.

Given that this monarch is a male—determined by a black dot on its hind wing called a “field mark”—and was spending time in the milkweed flowers in mid-May, it was likely dining on the energy-rich nectar for its flight across the Sacramento Valley. If it had been a female, it would either have been drinking nectar or searching for a safe spot to lay her eggs. Since milkweed is the only plant monarch caterpillars can eat, the adult female will first taste the plant with her feet to confirm it is indeed the correct species before depositing tiny, single eggs on the undersides of the leaves or near the flower buds. By laying eggs on milkweed, she ensures her future caterpillars can feed on the plant’s milky sap.

Four decades ago, Western monarchs numbered around 4.5 million. Today, the population has declined by more than 99 percent, driven by habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change. Our window to reverse the trend is narrowing fast. But River Partners is committed to a bold goal: planting 15 million milkweed plants for monarchs across California by 2030. River Partners is adding milkweed seeds to plugs to our future restoration project plans, from the Northern Sacramento Valley to the Imperial Valley. Our nonprofit native seed venture, Heritage Growers, provides seeds and plants for the vast majority of these efforts.

Read more at:

Eyes in the Wild: A River Partners Wildlife Journal – May Edition - River Partners This month, a honeybee swarm, a mother with her babies, and a special wildlife sighting at River Partners’ headquarters

Every year, millions of birds, bats, and butterflies move through California’s San Joaquin Valley. And for most of that journey, River Partners has largely been blind to them. But in January, we started getting a little help from a pair of Motus stations. These towers feature multiple antennae that receive signals from tagged wildlife and were installed at Dos Rios State Park (just west of Modesto) and Panorama Vista Preserve (in Bakersfield).

With a clear line of sight, antennas can detect animals within 9-12 miles and will give River Partners a better understanding of migration routes, stopover sites, and the timing of movements in this vital migratory corridor. Motus technology uses lightweight radio tags to provide real-time data on the migration of birds, bats, and butterflies, helping scientists better understand how these species use restored habitats. Traditional Motus tags for birds weigh as little as 0.2 grams. Butterfly tags are even smaller and lighter, weighing a feathery 0.06 grams.

The California Wildlife Conservation Board provided funding for this research, and other key partnerships include Audubon California, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Southern Sierra Research Station, California State Parks, and Kern River Corridor Endowment.

📸 Butterfly by Kalvin Chan, Motus.org
📸 Bird by Southern Sierra Research Station, Annie Meyer

To explore more about how Motus stations will help River Partners and other scientists and conservationists in California, please read our story here: https://riverpartners.org/news/motus-kickstarts-new-era-of-science-at-river-partners/

How do you track juvenile salmon on their 100-mile journey? With technology that’s smaller than a fingernail.

In collaboration with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, we’re using a Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System at our 1,600-acre Dos Rios Norte restoration site. By placing 12 underwater receivers, we are listening in on tagged juvenile salmon as they navigate the Sacramento Valley. Each ping gives us the exact date, time, and location—helping us map out their journey, build better habitats, and answer questions about how they got there.

Central Valley Chinook salmon are in serious trouble. Multiple runs are listed under the Endangered Species Act, with populations dropping 90% in just two decades. By tracking their precise migratory movements, River Partners can restore the exact corridors that give these imperiled fish the highest chance of survival. And through scientific efforts and collaboration like this, River Partners will continue to learn more about the salmon in the Sacramento River.

Read more about how we’re listening in on the secrets of juvenile salmon: https://riverpartners.org/news/listening-in-river-partners-tracking-juvenile-salmons-migratory-paths/

A coyote and an American badger hunting together at night. Quite a sight, huh? That’s what one of our camera traps captured at the Finney-Ramer restoration site that we’re leading with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Conservation Corps, south of the Salton Sea. The collaborative hunting agreement between the American badger and coyote is a fascinating example of “collaborative hunting.” While the scene in the photo may look like two pals hanging out at night, this is actually a calculated hunting strategy that leverages the unique physical mechanics of two very different and effective predators.

Who does the work here in this sophisticated, mutualistic hunting partnership? The American badger typically performs the most physically demanding labor, using its powerful forelimbs and shovel-like claws to breach complex underground tunnel systems in search of prey. Meanwhile, the coyote secures the perimeter, employing its superior speed and height to monitor the many escape hatches of potential prey in a burrow that the badger can’t see while its head is in the dirt.

So, which animal benefits more from this arrangement? Research shows that coyotes hunting with badgers catch prey about one-third more often than they do when hunting alone—it simply waits for the badger to flush the prey out of the hole and saves huge amounts of energy by not chasing prey across open ground. And while the badger’s benefit is less dramatic, the coyote’s presence prevents prey from attempting its getaway above ground, often forcing the rodent back into the tunnel where the badger is already digging for an easy catch.

See more fun critters from our "Eyes in the Wild" series: https://riverpartners.org/news/eyes-in-the-wild-a-river-partners-wildlife-journal-february-edition/