Oklahoma Enrolls First Playa into CP23a Program
Oklahoma celebrated the enrollment of the state's first playa lake in the CP23a initiative of the Conservation Reserve Program with a ceremony January 24 honoring the landowner and resource managers who made it all happen.
Bill Smithton, who manages the 164-acre Harper County playa for his sister, landowner Betty Dhotre, accepted an honorary plaque on her behalf from Oklahoma Farm Service Agency (FSA) Executive Director Jim Reese. Also in attendance were Johnny Owens, FSA Harper County Executive Director, and Jim Shaffer, District Conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, who guided Smithton and Dhothre through the CP23a application process. Rod Wanger, Oklahoma FSA Conservation Chief, and John Hendrix, Danny Watson and Wade Free from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation who work on playa conservation projects, also made the celebration.
Smithton first heard about the CP23a program through the outreach efforts of the Oklahoma Wildlife and Prairie Heritage Alliance, a grassroots partnership focused on educating landowners on conservation issues and program opportunities in Western Oklahoma, and who organized the Jan. 24 event.
Oklahoma now joins the ranks of Kansas and Texas as states that have successfully enrolled playa lakes in the CP23a program. Total enrollment is currently about 600 acres; yet that is a small fraction of the 56,600 that is available to PLJV states. The JV is urging its partners to do all that they can to boost enrollment and remove barriers.
John Johnson, FSA Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs, recently talked about the merits of the CP23a program on the Playa Lakes Radio Series.
PLJV Board to Meet in Texas
The PLJV Management Board will hold its winter meeting Feb. 22 - 24 at the Ambassador Hotel in Amarillo in conjunction with the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society's (TCTWS) annual meeting, which begins Feb. 24. The merging of the two will provide JV members an opportunity to participate in the TCTWS program which is focused primarily on wildlife and habitat issues in the Southern Great Plains and features the work of many JV partners and team members.
The PLJV meeting will kick off Feb. 22 with science and outreach team meetings, continue Feb. 23 with an executive board session and playa exhibit viewing, and conclude Feb. 24 with the full board meeting. During the board meeting, the PLJV staff will present the new Implementation Planning Guide and all-bird planning tools (see Playa Post Jan 2005), and board members will approve ConocoPhillips grants for habitat, research and education/outreach projects in 2005. For more information on the meeting, contact PLJV Coordinator Mike Carter.
Kansas Seeks Sites for High Plains Nature Trail
Western Kansas is capitalizing on its natural resources with the development of a new highway-based nature trail. The trail, spearheaded by a coalition of tourism and economic development organizations and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP), will provide travel information for tourists interested in seeing natural wonders and wildlife of Western Kansas. Trail organizers are currently seeking site nominations and are holding several meetings throughout western Kansas Feb. 8 and 9. The meetings will provide information on existing highway-based trails in other states, how to nominate potential areas for western Kansas, and the coordination process involved. For more information, email Ken Brunson, KDWP wildlife diversity coordinator, or call 620-672-0757.
Oklahoma celebrated the enrollment of the state's first playa lake in the CP23a initiative of the Conservation Reserve Program with a ceremony January 24 honoring the landowner and resource managers who made it all happen.
Bill Smithton, who manages the 164-acre Harper County playa for his sister, landowner Betty Dhotre, accepted an honorary plaque on her behalf from Oklahoma Farm Service Agency (FSA) Executive Director Jim Reese. Also in attendance were Johnny Owens, FSA Harper County Executive Director, and Jim Shaffer, District Conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, who guided Smithton and Dhothre through the CP23a application process. Rod Wanger, Oklahoma FSA Conservation Chief, and John Hendrix, Danny Watson and Wade Free from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation who work on playa conservation projects, also made the celebration.
Smithton first heard about the CP23a program through the outreach efforts of the Oklahoma Wildlife and Prairie Heritage Alliance, a grassroots partnership focused on educating landowners on conservation issues and program opportunities in Western Oklahoma, and who organized the Jan. 24 event.
Oklahoma now joins the ranks of Kansas and Texas as states that have successfully enrolled playa lakes in the CP23a program. Total enrollment is currently about 600 acres; yet that is a small fraction of the 56,600 that is available to PLJV states. The JV is urging its partners to do all that they can to boost enrollment and remove barriers.
John Johnson, FSA Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs, recently talked about the merits of the CP23a program on the Playa Lakes Radio Series.
PLJV Board to Meet in Texas
The PLJV Management Board will hold its winter meeting Feb. 22 - 24 at the Ambassador Hotel in Amarillo in conjunction with the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society's (TCTWS) annual meeting, which begins Feb. 24. The merging of the two will provide JV members an opportunity to participate in the TCTWS program which is focused primarily on wildlife and habitat issues in the Southern Great Plains and features the work of many JV partners and team members.
The PLJV meeting will kick off Feb. 22 with science and outreach team meetings, continue Feb. 23 with an executive board session and playa exhibit viewing, and conclude Feb. 24 with the full board meeting. During the board meeting, the PLJV staff will present the new Implementation Planning Guide and all-bird planning tools (see Playa Post Jan 2005), and board members will approve ConocoPhillips grants for habitat, research and education/outreach projects in 2005. For more information on the meeting, contact PLJV Coordinator Mike Carter.
Kansas Seeks Sites for High Plains Nature Trail
Western Kansas is capitalizing on its natural resources with the development of a new highway-based nature trail. The trail, spearheaded by a coalition of tourism and economic development organizations and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP), will provide travel information for tourists interested in seeing natural wonders and wildlife of Western Kansas. Trail organizers are currently seeking site nominations and are holding several meetings throughout western Kansas Feb. 8 and 9. The meetings will provide information on existing highway-based trails in other states, how to nominate potential areas for western Kansas, and the coordination process involved. For more information, email Ken Brunson, KDWP wildlife diversity coordinator, or call 620-672-0757.
Click HERE for an Outdoor Oklahoma news video covering the state's first CP23a project. Video courtesy of Steve Webber of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. (6.5M download, requires Windows Media Player).
Western U.S. Joint Ventures Hold Science Seminar
Members of four joint ventures representing 17 western states from California to the Dakotas met at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Region 6 office in Denver January 19 - 20 to present bird planning strategies and discuss common science issues. The seminar was attended by the Intermountain West, Playa Lakes, Prairie Pothole and Rainwater Basin Joint Venture staffs, several USFWS personnel from regions 6, 3 and 2 and representatives from the U.S. Geological Survey, The Nature Conservancy, Audubon Society and Ducks Unlimited.
The seminar marked the first regional gathering of Joint Ventures, and highlighted the critical need to continue to share approaches and expand partnerships to capitalize on the best science resources available. Notes from the meeting will be available in the next PLJV Science Circular.
Follow the Money:
>Private Stewardship Grant Program:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provides PSGP grants on a competitive basis to individuals and groups engaged in voluntary conservation efforts on private land that protect endangered, threatened, proposed, candidate and other at-risk species. About $6.5 million is available for FY2005. Applications are due March 21. For Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico, contact Mike McCollum at (817) 277-1108; for Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska contact Pat Mehlhop at (303) 236-7400.
> Conservation Innovation Grants:
CIGs are awarded through the Natural Resources Conservation Service to non-federal organizations and individuals to stimulate the development of innovative conservation approaches to agricultural production. Up to $15 million is available in FY 2005 and applications are due March 28. Contact Kari Cohen at (202) 720-2335.
> North American Wetlands Conservation
Act Grants: U.S. Standard NAWCA Grants are awarded on a competitive basis to conservation partnerships to acquire, restore, enhance and establish wetland habitat within Joint Venture boundaries. Up to $1million is available for each proposed project and grant applications are due March 4 and July 29 in 2005. NAWCA applications are a rigorous process and the PLJV is here to help. See the JV's NAWCA Timeline for tips on how to organize an application. Questions? Contact Mike Carter.
Playa Post ©2003, 2004, 2005 Playa Lakes Joint Venture. Submission deadlines are the 15th of each month for publication the following month. Send press releases, comments and subscription inquiries to Debbie F. Slobe.