Working with Partners to Conserve Birds and Bird Habitat

Map of PLJV Boundaries, Playas and the Ogallala Aquifer

PHOTO CREDIT: Top photos provided courtesy of Tom Grey.

The Playa Lakes Joint Venture (PLJV) is a regional partnership of federal and state wildlife agencies, conservation groups and private industry dedicated to conserving bird habitat throughout the western Great Plains — including portions of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. We provide science-based planning tools, decision support tools and outreach to help habitat managers become more efficient and effective at delivering on-the-ground conservation. Read more about PLJV >>

Tools to Help Prioritize Playas

Playa Lakes Joint Venture is developing a Playa Decision Support System (DSS), which will help to maximize the conservation of playas by guiding conservation actions toward and potential negative impacts away from the most ecologically valuable playas. Learn more >>

Listen to Playa Country Radio

Lesser Prairie-Chicken and Vertical Structures
Over the years, the Lesser Prairie-Chicken's habitat has been damaged by the addition of vertical structures and human activity including road-building, oil and gas development, and mesquite and other woody invasives. In New Mexico, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has partnered with hundreds of groups to restore and link back together the bird's habitat. Listen to archived episodes >>

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Protect Highly Erodible Cropland

To help with landowner outreach efforts, PLJV conducted an analysis to identify highly erodible cropland in the Lesser Prairie-Chicken range. With this tool, USDA personnel and Farm Bill Wildlife Biologists can find fields likely to qualify and approach landowners to tell them it. Read more >>

CRP General Sign-up in May

Beginning on May 20, the US Department of Agriculture will hold a Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general sign-up. This is a good opportunity to enroll expiring or new acres of marginal, highly erodible land into the Conservation Reserve; however, like all opportunities, the details are important. Read more >>