The San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge encompasses more than 6500 acres (26.3 km²) of riparian woodland

Woodland

Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

s, wetland

Wetland

A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....

s, and grassland

Grassland

Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...

s that host a diversity of wildlife native to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

's Central Valley. Established in 1987 under the authority of the Endangered Species

Endangered Species Act

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...

 and Migratory Bird Conservation Acts, the refuge has also played a major role in the recovery of Aleutian cackling geese

Aleutian Cackling Goose

The Aleutian Cackling Goose , formerly known as the Aleutian Canada Goose , is small subspecies of Cackling Goose averaging 1700 to 2100 grams....

.

Within the borders of the San Joaquin National Wildlife Refuge is one of California's largest riparian forest restoration projects: 400,000 native trees have been planted across 1700 acres (6.9 km²) of river floodplain

Floodplain

A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...

. This major task was led by River Partners, Inc., a non-profit organization committed to restoring riparian habitat for wildlife.

Riparian forests, which once covered large portions of California's Central Valley, have been greatly reduced due to state and federal water projects and diversions. The San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge's important riparian habitat is host to many rare animals. Swainson's hawk

Swainson's Hawk

The Swainson's Hawk , is a large buteo hawk of the Falconiformes, sometimes separated in the Accipitriformes like its relatives. This species was named after William Swainson, a British naturalist...

s nest in the canopy of tall cottonwood trees. Heron

Heron

The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....

s and cormorant

Cormorant

The bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed.- Names :...

s form communal nesting colonies within the tops of the large oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

s on Christman Island. Endangered riparian brush rabbit

Brush Rabbit

The Brush Rabbit , or Western Brush Rabbit, is a species of cottontail rabbit found in western coastal regions of North America, from the Columbia River in Oregon to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula...

s have been reintroduced to their historic habitat from captive-reared populations.