Editing Central Valley (California) (section)

===Protected areas===
The [[Great Valley Grasslands State Park]] preserves an example of the valley's [[:Category:Native grasses of California|native grass]] [[habitat]], while oak savanna habitats survive near [[Visalia, California|Visalia]]. Areas of wetland and riverside woodland are found in the north, especially by the Sacramento River system, including the [[Nature Conservancy]]'s [[Cosumnes River Preserve]] just south of Sacramento, Gray Lodge Wildlife Area, [[Butte Sink Wildlife Management Area]], and other patches in the delta area. Remaining vernal pools include [[Pixley National Wildlife Refuge]] between [[Tulare, California]], and Bakersfield and Jepson Prairie Preserve in the delta. Large blocks of desert scrubland exist in the southern San Joaquin Valley and the [[Carrizo Plain]], just outside the valley, but offering a similar landscape.

The wetlands have been the target of rescue operations to restore areas replaced by agriculture.<ref>Philip Garone, ''The Fall and Rise of the Wetlands of California's Great Central Valley'' (University of California Press; 2011)</ref>

These patches of natural habitat are disconnected, which is particularly damaging for wildlife that is used to migrating along the rivers. Agriculture, grazing land, and the draining of lakes and rivers have radically altered valley habitats. Most of the grassland has been overtaken by new species; most vernal pools have been destroyed, leaving only those on the higher slopes; the marshland has been drained, and the riverbank woodlands have nearly all been affected.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}