Almost 75% of the Yolo Bypass is privately owned, while the rest belongs to the
Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area. Most of the land is used for agriculture during the summer and spring, and the rest makes up marshland. This marshland is ideal for animal habitat, and is also utilized for fishing, hunting, and other recreational activities.
Flood control Flood control is the main purpose of the Yolo Bypass. When the flowrate of the Sacramento River exceeds approximately , the excess is released into the Yolo Bypass at the passive Fremont Weir, near that river's confluence with the
Feather River. The Fremont Weir, which lies along the south bank of the Sacramento, is about tall, nearly shorter than the levee on the north bank. When the water reaches the mark it starts to flow out into the Yolo Basin. North of where the Elkhorn Causeway crosses the Yolo Bypass, the Cache Creek flood control basin drains into the Yolo Bypass. The crest of the Sacramento Weir is at and the top of the moveable gates is ; each gate is long.
Wildlife habitats The Yolo Bypass contains the
Fremont Weir Wildlife Area,
Sacramento Weir Wildlife Area and
Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area. The
Vic Fazio Yolo Wildlife Area is also part of the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area and was the largest public/private restoration project west of the Florida Everglades. The entire bypass forms a valuable wetland habitat when flooded during the winter and spring rainy season. In the summer, areas of the bypass outside the wildlife areas are used for agriculture. The Yolo Bypass provides habitat for over 280 terrestrial vertebrate species, changing throughout the seasons. The natural flooding provides an exceptionally good nursery habitat for native fish species, including the endangered
Chinook salmon. Juvenile salmon have been found to grow substantially better in the Yolo Bypass than the adjacent
Sacramento River. Other special-status wildlife residing in the Yolo Bypass includes
giant garter snake,
fairy shrimp,
bald eagle,
Swainson's Hawk, and more. Wildlife managers occasionally flood certain areas to create wetlands for
migratory waterfowl. The Yolo Bypass is somewhat of a pit stop for the waterfowl, and it provides nesting habitat and food for this abundance of birds. The Yolo Basin Wetlands Project is accounted as being one of the largest wetland restoration projects in the Western United States. Habitats in the Yolo Basin Wetlands includes seasonal wetlands, uplands, perennial wetlands,
vernal pools and
riparian forest. The Bypass also holds species of riparian vegetation such as
cottonwoods,
black walnut,
willows,
saltgrass, and other assorted tree and grass species. The Yolo Causeway has one of the largest colonies of bats in the state. Thousands of bats, consisting of
Mexican free-tailed bats and two other species, roost under the
Interstate 80 structure that crosses over the wildlife area. s migrate to and nest under the
Yolo Causeway during the summer (2018) Habitat Management activities are monitored annually by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Wildlife Area Habitat Committee for area in the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area. Each year they establish a specific management plan for different parts of the land. The targeted species for seasonal wetland management is the
timothy species. This plant provides countless nutritional seeds for consumption by assorted migratory waterfowl. There are also quite a few
nonnative species that are not necessarily wanted in the bypass such as dock and
perennial pepperweed. toward
Sacramento. Heavy rainstorms in January led to total flooding in the bypass. Years with high flows in the Yolo Bypass also benefit fish populations in the San Francisco Estuary. This is mainly because of increased habitat availability, food supply, larval transport, and reduced predation.
Agriculture The floodplains of the Yolo Bypass are a surprisingly good farming ground for multiple seasonal crops. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife leases land to farmers through the Dixon Resource Conservation District. The most widely-grown crops include rice,
safflower, processing
tomatoes,
corn,
sunflower, and irrigated pasture. Half of the rice grown in the Yolo Bypass is wild due to its tolerance to colder weather. Farming is mainly done in late spring and summer when flooding does not usually occur, but farming can be halted or delayed depending on the water level in the Bypass. Agricultural crops in
Yolo County amount to about $300 million a year. Leftover crop residue is beneficial to animal habitat. The already-harvested land creates foraging area, and food opportunities, such as seeds for
mourning dove and the non-native
ring-necked pheasants.
Recreation and education The Yolo Bypass provides a multitude of recreational uses and educational as well. The Yolo Bypass Wildlife Headquarters provides summer educational programs for children in kindergarten through high school. These programs include hands on activities on plants, animals, and wetlands, using the
Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area as a classroom. They have summer camps, classes, and are open to schools wanting to coordinate field trips as well. The Bypass is also open for guided tours for all ages of the public every month. The Yolo Bypass is often used for bird watching, hunting, and hiking. Game species include waterfowl (when the bypass is flooded), ring-necked pheasant, and mourning dove. There are also assorted trails that loop around the wetlands in the Yolo Bypass that may be accessed by the public. ==Future==