PLJV/ConocoPhillips Grants Generate $800,000 in Projects
During the PLJV Management Board meeting in Amarillo, Texas, last month, board members approved $86,000 in ConocoPhillips grants to support eight conservation projects with matching partner contributions totaling $812,457, making this year one of the most leveraged round of projects to date. The projects, supporting habitat conservation, research and outreach efforts across the PLJV's six-state region, range from studying the condition and bird use of playas in Colorado and Texas, to providing incentive payments to Kansas landowners to enroll playas into the Conservation Reserve Program, to converting an old army vehicle into a mobile environmental education command center in Oklahoma.
The PLJV received a total of 12 proposals for the 2005 grant cycle requesting $163,103. During the February 22 - 24 meeting in Amarillo, the PLJV science and outreach teams evaluated the proposals and recommended that the board fund two habitat, three outreach, one combined outreach/habitat and two research proposals. Since 1990, ConocoPhillips has contributed more than $1.3 million to the PLJV grant program, which has generated more than 250 conservation projects.
Also during the Board meeting, the PLJV staff unveiled the new Implementation Plan and tools designed to help land managers and biologists make scientifically-based planning and land management decisions for birds. The Plan and tools will be presented in further detail in the next PLJV Science Circular due out this spring. Contact the PLJV if you would like to receive this e-publication. The Board also heard presentations from Seth Mott, Chief of the Branch of Science and Planning for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Division of Bird Habitat Conservation, about Joint Ventures' role in cooperative conservation and science-based planning, and from Tish McDaniel, recipient of a PLJV State Capacity Grant in 2002, who helped spearhead a successful new playa conservation initiative in eastern New Mexico using the Environmental Quality Incentives Program of the Farm Bill.
The next PLJV Management Board meeting will take place June 15 - 17 in New Mexico. Details will be provided in future issues of the Playa Post.
Happenings Around the PLJV:
> March 1 - 22: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department hosts several public comment and landowner meetings on Lesser Prairie-Chickens throughout the state; contact Heather Whitlaw for dates and locations.
> March 7: Playas... Gems of the Plains traveling exhibit debuts at the No Mans Land Museum in Goodwell, OK; contact Paul Katz.
> March 9: Ogallala Commons playa management workshop in Nazareth, TX; contact Darryl Birkenfeld.
> March 10: Nebraska Partnership for All-Bird Conservation spring symposium, Grand Island, NE; contact Kelly Wells.
>March 16 - 19: 70th Annual North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, Arlington, VA; contact Richard McCabe (202) 371-1808.
> March 29: Prairie and Wetlands Focus Area Committee meeting, Lamar, CO; contact Terri Hicks-Anderson.
> March 30 - 31: Republican River Riparian Project Workshop, McCook, NE; contact Duane Cheney.
> April 6: Colorado All-bird/Partners in Flight Meeting, Denver, CO; contact David Klute.
> April 8 - 10: New Mexico Dept. of Game and Fish 4th Annual High Plains Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival, Milnesand, NM; contact Bill Dunn.
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.
During the PLJV Management Board meeting in Amarillo, Texas, last month, board members approved $86,000 in ConocoPhillips grants to support eight conservation projects with matching partner contributions totaling $812,457, making this year one of the most leveraged round of projects to date. The projects, supporting habitat conservation, research and outreach efforts across the PLJV's six-state region, range from studying the condition and bird use of playas in Colorado and Texas, to providing incentive payments to Kansas landowners to enroll playas into the Conservation Reserve Program, to converting an old army vehicle into a mobile environmental education command center in Oklahoma.
The PLJV received a total of 12 proposals for the 2005 grant cycle requesting $163,103. During the February 22 - 24 meeting in Amarillo, the PLJV science and outreach teams evaluated the proposals and recommended that the board fund two habitat, three outreach, one combined outreach/habitat and two research proposals. Since 1990, ConocoPhillips has contributed more than $1.3 million to the PLJV grant program, which has generated more than 250 conservation projects.
Also during the Board meeting, the PLJV staff unveiled the new Implementation Plan and tools designed to help land managers and biologists make scientifically-based planning and land management decisions for birds. The Plan and tools will be presented in further detail in the next PLJV Science Circular due out this spring. Contact the PLJV if you would like to receive this e-publication. The Board also heard presentations from Seth Mott, Chief of the Branch of Science and Planning for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Division of Bird Habitat Conservation, about Joint Ventures' role in cooperative conservation and science-based planning, and from Tish McDaniel, recipient of a PLJV State Capacity Grant in 2002, who helped spearhead a successful new playa conservation initiative in eastern New Mexico using the Environmental Quality Incentives Program of the Farm Bill.
The next PLJV Management Board meeting will take place June 15 - 17 in New Mexico. Details will be provided in future issues of the Playa Post.
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Playa Lakes Radio Story of the Month: Sandhill Cranes
Lynn Nymeyer of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Buffalo Lake NWR, near Umbarger, Texas, shared his insight into Sandhill Crane identification and habitat use, and where to see the bir  ds as they migrate through Texas on a recent Playa Lakes Radio Series report. Tune in to participating radio stations every Friday afternoon at 12:45pm CST for a new show, or listen to archives of the broadcasts on the PLJV web site. Upcoming shows will feature an interview with Texas Congressman Randy Neugebauer on playa conservation and biologists from the Texas and New Mexico state wildlife departments on Lesser Prairie-Chickens.Download sandhill crane show (1M MP3) |
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Happenings Around the PLJV:
> March 1 - 22: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department hosts several public comment and landowner meetings on Lesser Prairie-Chickens throughout the state; contact Heather Whitlaw for dates and locations.
> March 7: Playas... Gems of the Plains traveling exhibit debuts at the No Mans Land Museum in Goodwell, OK; contact Paul Katz.
> March 9: Ogallala Commons playa management workshop in Nazareth, TX; contact Darryl Birkenfeld.
> March 10: Nebraska Partnership for All-Bird Conservation spring symposium, Grand Island, NE; contact Kelly Wells.
>March 16 - 19: 70th Annual North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, Arlington, VA; contact Richard McCabe (202) 371-1808.
> March 29: Prairie and Wetlands Focus Area Committee meeting, Lamar, CO; contact Terri Hicks-Anderson.
> March 30 - 31: Republican River Riparian Project Workshop, McCook, NE; contact Duane Cheney.
> April 6: Colorado All-bird/Partners in Flight Meeting, Denver, CO; contact David Klute.
> April 8 - 10: New Mexico Dept. of Game and Fish 4th Annual High Plains Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival, Milnesand, NM; contact Bill Dunn.
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.
Farmers Flock to CP23a Workshop in Southwest KS
More than 30 land operators attended a CP23a workshop hosted by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Meade County February 11, and many others have been stopping by the NRCS office to inquire about the program ever since.
"We are encouraged by the number of people who came out for the workshop and who continue to stop by the office," said Tom Flowers, NRCS soil conservationist in Meade County who helped organize the event. "We expect to generate a fair number of CP23a signups from the workshop."
Workshop organizers sent personal invitations to more than 100 farmers with playas in the area, which was a major factor in generating the impressive attendance and subsequent interest, said Flowers. The workshop was made possible with funding support from the PLJV, which is offering assistance to each of its member states to support projects that result in landowner enrollment in CP23a. This latest workshop was the sixth that Kansas partners have organized with the help of PLJV funding to date.
Flowers gave a presentation during the workshop that focused on both the environmental and economic benefits of playa protection. He encouraged land operators to analyze the financial impacts of farming through playas, which often results in damage to farm equipment due to the density of clay soils and flooding, and rarely produces a crop. This point was well taken by workshop participants, as Meade County had a considerably wet season last fall and many landowners lost their crops in flooded playas, said Flowers.
"We are not going to sell this program on environmental concerns alone," Flowers said. "We have to sell it on what landowners can take to the bank. And that should be an easy sell."
PLJV partners with solid ideas on how to increase enrollment in CP23a should contact the JV office for possible funding support. So far, only partners in Kansas, Texas and Colorado have taken advantage of this opportunity.
"We are encouraged by the number of people who came out for the workshop and who continue to stop by the office," said Tom Flowers, NRCS soil conservationist in Meade County who helped organize the event. "We expect to generate a fair number of CP23a signups from the workshop."
Workshop organizers sent personal invitations to more than 100 farmers with playas in the area, which was a major factor in generating the impressive attendance and subsequent interest, said Flowers. The workshop was made possible with funding support from the PLJV, which is offering assistance to each of its member states to support projects that result in landowner enrollment in CP23a. This latest workshop was the sixth that Kansas partners have organized with the help of PLJV funding to date.
Flowers gave a presentation during the workshop that focused on both the environmental and economic benefits of playa protection. He encouraged land operators to analyze the financial impacts of farming through playas, which often results in damage to farm equipment due to the density of clay soils and flooding, and rarely produces a crop. This point was well taken by workshop participants, as Meade County had a considerably wet season last fall and many landowners lost their crops in flooded playas, said Flowers.
"We are not going to sell this program on environmental concerns alone," Flowers said. "We have to sell it on what landowners can take to the bank. And that should be an easy sell."
PLJV partners with solid ideas on how to increase enrollment in CP23a should contact the JV office for possible funding support. So far, only partners in Kansas, Texas and Colorado have taken advantage of this opportunity.
Follow the Money:
> Nebraska Bird Conservation Capacity-Building Small Grant Program
These grants are offered by the Nebraska Partnership for All-Bird Conservation and Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, and funded through the PLJV, for projects that increase the capacity of NPABC partners to deliver bird habitat conservation projects in western and southwestern Nebraska. Up to $20,000 is available; application deadline is April 1st. Contact Mace Hack for more information.
> Environmental Protection Agency Targeted Watershed Grants Program
The Targeted Watershed Grants Program is a relatively new program designed to encourage successful community-based approaches and management techniques to protect and restore the nation's waters. The watershed organizations receiving grants this year exhibited strong partnerships with a wide variety of support; creative, socio-economic approaches to water restoration and protection; and explicit monitoring and environmentally-based performance measures. Nominations for grantees are due May 19.
> USFWS Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund Grant
The Cooperative Endangerd Species Conservation Fund Grant program awards grants to states and territories for land acquisition and habitat conservation planning to benefit species that are either proposed or candidates for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Through the fiscal year 2005 appropriation from Congress, more than $70.5 million is available to fund planning activities and land acquisition for federally protected species. Deadline for applications is May 24.
> NRCS State-Level Conservation Innovation Grants
NRCS is piloting a state-level Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) program for the Pacific Basin and selected states, including Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Nebraska, for FY2005. CIGs are currently awarded at the national level, and provide organizations and producers with the opportunity, through innovation, to address some of the country's most pressing natural resource conservation needs. Texas CIG applications are due April 22. For Colorado, New Mexico and Nebraska, contact the state NRCS office for deadline and application information.
> USFWS Landowner Incentive Grants
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced it is seeking proposals from states and territories for funding under the Landowner Incentive Program (LIP). There is $19 million available in FY2005 for state programs that support collaborative conservation efforts with private landowners.