science

Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge

Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge rather than just read about it. In short: The Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge was an artificial wetland environment, created using agricultural runoff from farmland in California's Central Valley. The irrigation water is transported to the valley from sources in the Sierra Nevada via the California Aqueduct.

Key takeaways

Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge was an artificial wetland environment, created using agricultural runoff from farmland in California's Central Valley. The irrigation water is transported to the valley from sources in the Sierra Nevada via the California Aqueduct. Minerals from these sources are carried in the water and concentrated by evaporation from aqueducts, canals, and fields. This has resulted in an exceptionally high accumulation of selenium and other minerals in the wetlands. Wildlife in this region suffered deformities due to selenium poisoning, drawing the attention of news media and leading to the closure of the refuge. Kesterson Reservoir was a unit of the refuge but is now part of San Luis National Wildlife Refuge.

Westlands-Kesterson Timeline

1952 - Westlands Water District is formed and would become the nation's largest water district, covering 600,000 acres 1961 - United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) agrees to build San Luis Reservoir and a runoff drain that would benefit the Westlands 1975 - Funding for the Westlands drain cut by Congress resulting in toxic run-off diverted to Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge evaporation ponds 1977 Nov 5 - 529 page federal report finds USBR failed to breakup corporate ownership in Westlands over 160 acre limit 1978 - 7,000 acre-feet of toxic water laced with selenium and pesticides sent annually to Kesterson evaporation ponds flows into wildlife reserve 1983 - 60% of baby birds are deformed within Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge where contaminated water is sent 1985 - Publication of "Tragedy at Kesterson Reservoir: Death of a Wildlife Refuge Illustrates Failings of Water Law" 1996 - USBR and State of California form Grasslands Bypass Project to divert contaminated water from going into Kesterson 2000 Mar 1 - Court of Appeals orders USBR to construct Central Valley Project (CVP) Drain Jun 9 - $450 million water plan proposed by Governor Gray Davis includes raising Shasta Dam height 2002 Feb 13 - Natural Resources Defense Council appeals judge's ruling over how much CVP water can be retained for wildlife Nov 17 - USBR close to making deal to buy contaminated lands in Westlands 2004 Apr 22 - Sac Express The Rich get wetter Jul 14 - Court order allows for protection of fish in Trinity River with water Sep 14 - EWG Less Land, More Water Soaking Uncle Sam 2007 Aug 30 - California fishing e-magazine publishes, "Westlands wants to raise Shasta Dam and grab $40 billion in subsidized water" 2009 Jun 10 - TJA CVP pumping changes to protect fish 2012 Mar 2 - Court of Appeals ends thirteen-year legal battle between Westlands and Interior Department in government's favor 2017 Mar 17 - San Luis Unit Drainage Resolution Act (H.R.1769) proposed to deal with Kesterson drainage May 18 - Ex-Westlands Water District lobbyist picked for key Department of the Interior post Nov 10 - USBR and Westlands Water District settlement in limbo 2018 Jan 23 - Deadline passes but Westlands confident of help from Congress May 3 - Billions at play over Kesterson impacts and the growing pressure to accept deal from Westland's big farmers 2019 May 1 - USBR-Westlands drainage deal for CVP water: Who's who and what's involved May 23 - Congressional Research Service releases new report on the CVP and legislative proposals Sept 6 - Environmentalists win Appeals Court victory against San Joaquin Valley agricultural polluters Nov 15 - Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, who was the former lawyer for Westlands proposes permanent CVP water contract

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge

In research: Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bird sanctuaries of the United States, Constructed wetlands, Disasters in California, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge in simple terms?

Why does Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge.