Colorado Awarded NAWCA Small Grant for Playa Lakes Conservation
PLJV partners in Colorado were awarded a $50,000 North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) Small Grant to restore about 200 acres of playa lakes and associated uplands in the southeastern portion of the state. The grant will be matched by an additional $125,426 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) Partners for Fish and Wildlife program, Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW), Natural Resources Conservation Service and individual landowners. All partners came together on this project as a result of their involvement in the Prairie and Wetlands Focus Area Committee, a coalition of state natural resource and agriculture agencies, non-profit groups and private landowners, which is supported by the CDOW and PLJV. For more information on Colorado's newest small NAWCA, contact Katy Fitzgerald of the Colorado FWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program.
Landowners Tell All About Playas during Focus Groups
More than 50 landowners shared their likes, dislikes, knowledge and lack thereof of playa lakes during four state focus groups conducted in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and Nebraska last fall. Focus group facilitators recently published a report summarizing landowner responses, which were "as varied as the county rainfall average," according to the authors. But what many landowners did concur on was that wildlife was the primary motivator for participating in playa preservation projects, and economic incentives were viewed more as a tool to make this conservation possible rather than as income-producers.
The focus groups were facilitated by Texas Prairie Rivers Region, Inc. and coordinated by the Playa Lakes Joint Venture, Oklahoma Wildlife and Prairie Heritage Alliance, Oklahoma Dept. of Wildlife Conservation, Natural Resources Conservation Service of OK and TX, Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams, Kansas Dept. of Wildlife and Parks and Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, and were funded by the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. For a copy of the entire landowner focus group summary report, contact Debbie Slobe.
Remember Wildlife When Filing State Income Taxes
PLJV-area residents who are expecting a state income tax refund from 2004, might want to consider giving a little back to wildlife. Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico and Oklahoma all have state income tax refund check-off programs that help fund non-game wildlife conservation, research and habitat conservation projects at state wildlife agencies. In Texas, which does not have state income taxes, agricultural landowners can offset their property taxes by engaging in wildlife management activities. According to a 1998 International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies report (PDF file), donations from individual state tax refunds currently provide an average of six percent of states' wildlife diversity funding. IAFWA is currently gathering information from states for an updated 2004 report.
Happenings Around the PLJV:
> April 4 - 8: Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy Open House Meetings, various locations; Contact Andrea Crews.
> April 6: Colorado All-Bird/Partners in Flight meeting, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Denver; contact David Klute.
> April 7: New Mexico Dept. of Game and Fish State Wildlife Conservation Strategy Partners' Forum, Rio Rancho; contact Bill Graves.
> April 8: Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education spring meeting, Wichita; contact Beth Carreno.
> April 8 - 9: 4th Annual New Mexico High Plains Lesser Prairie-Chicken Festival, Milnesand; contact Bill Dunn at the NM Dept. of Game and Fish.
> April 10 - 16: First annual National Environmental Education Week.
> April 13: Oklahoma Wildlife and Prairie Heritage Alliance meeting, Waynoka; contact Trapper Heglin.
> April 13 - 15: Partners in Flight Western Working Group meeting, Brigham City, Utah; contact Larry Neel.
> April 22: Earth Day
> April 29 - May 1: Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education "Teaching Outside the Box" annual conference, Winter Park; contact Karin Hostetter.
> April 30 - May 1: Great Salt Plains Birding Festival, Cherokee, OK.
PLJV partners in Colorado were awarded a $50,000 North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) Small Grant to restore about 200 acres of playa lakes and associated uplands in the southeastern portion of the state. The grant will be matched by an additional $125,426 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) Partners for Fish and Wildlife program, Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW), Natural Resources Conservation Service and individual landowners. All partners came together on this project as a result of their involvement in the Prairie and Wetlands Focus Area Committee, a coalition of state natural resource and agriculture agencies, non-profit groups and private landowners, which is supported by the CDOW and PLJV. For more information on Colorado's newest small NAWCA, contact Katy Fitzgerald of the Colorado FWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program.
NAWCA Small Grant proposal instructions for 2006 will be posted on the Division of Bird Habitat Conservation web site this week.
Landowners Tell All About Playas during Focus Groups
More than 50 landowners shared their likes, dislikes, knowledge and lack thereof of playa lakes during four state focus groups conducted in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and Nebraska last fall. Focus group facilitators recently published a report summarizing landowner responses, which were "as varied as the county rainfall average," according to the authors. But what many landowners did concur on was that wildlife was the primary motivator for participating in playa preservation projects, and economic incentives were viewed more as a tool to make this conservation possible rather than as income-producers.
The focus groups were facilitated by Texas Prairie Rivers Region, Inc. and coordinated by the Playa Lakes Joint Venture, Oklahoma Wildlife and Prairie Heritage Alliance, Oklahoma Dept. of Wildlife Conservation, Natural Resources Conservation Service of OK and TX, Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams, Kansas Dept. of Wildlife and Parks and Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, and were funded by the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. For a copy of the entire landowner focus group summary report, contact Debbie Slobe.
Remember Wildlife When Filing State Income Taxes
PLJV-area residents who are expecting a state income tax refund from 2004, might want to consider giving a little back to wildlife. Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico and Oklahoma all have state income tax refund check-off programs that help fund non-game wildlife conservation, research and habitat conservation projects at state wildlife agencies. In Texas, which does not have state income taxes, agricultural landowners can offset their property taxes by engaging in wildlife management activities. According to a 1998 International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies report (PDF file), donations from individual state tax refunds currently provide an average of six percent of states' wildlife diversity funding. IAFWA is currently gathering information from states for an updated 2004 report.
Happenings Around the PLJV:
> April 4 - 8: Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy Open House Meetings, various locations; Contact Andrea Crews.
> April 6: Colorado All-Bird/Partners in Flight meeting, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Denver; contact David Klute.
> April 7: New Mexico Dept. of Game and Fish State Wildlife Conservation Strategy Partners' Forum, Rio Rancho; contact Bill Graves.
> April 8: Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education spring meeting, Wichita; contact Beth Carreno.
> April 8 - 9: 4th Annual New Mexico High Plains Lesser Prairie-Chicken Festival, Milnesand; contact Bill Dunn at the NM Dept. of Game and Fish.
> April 10 - 16: First annual National Environmental Education Week.
> April 13: Oklahoma Wildlife and Prairie Heritage Alliance meeting, Waynoka; contact Trapper Heglin.
> April 13 - 15: Partners in Flight Western Working Group meeting, Brigham City, Utah; contact Larry Neel.
> April 22: Earth Day
> April 29 - May 1: Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education "Teaching Outside the Box" annual conference, Winter Park; contact Karin Hostetter.
> April 30 - May 1: Great Salt Plains Birding Festival, Cherokee, OK.
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.
States Continue to Promote CP23a to Landowners
Last month Texas and Kansas hosted landowner workshops on the new Conservation Reserve Program aimed at conserving playa lakes (CP23a). The first, hosted by the Ogallala Commons, took place March 9 in Nazareth, Texas, and brought in 22 playa landowners from 11 counties in the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles to learn about CP23a and other programs and techniques aimed at preserving playas in farmland and ranchland. The workshop was marketed directly to playa landowners with the help of the Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS) County Soils Survey and Landowner Plat Book, and personal phone calls made to more than 75 landowners. Participants heard presentations from longtime PLJV partners, including Bill Johnson of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Charles Coffman of the NRCS, Luke Lewis of Texas Prairie Rivers Region, Inc. and former PLJV board member Jim Steiert.
On March 18, the Seward County NRCS and Farm Service Agency (FSA) office in Kansas hosted a CP23a workshop for about a dozen landowners. About 40 playa landowners were targeted for the workshop using FSA digital maps based on aerial photography shot last summer when Seward County experienced higher than average rainfall. Individual maps were made available to landowners who participated in the workshop, and Craig Curtis of the Kansas Dept. of Wildlife and Parks gave a presentation on playa lakes and CP23a. So far, one workshop participant has applied for the program and a couple more are interested, according to District Conservationist Renee Jones.
Both workshops were funded in part through the PLJV's CP23a "seed" grants to states for projects that directly lead to landowner enrollment in the program. So far, more than half a dozen workshops have been conducted in Colorado, Kansas and Texas. Funding is still available and PLJV partner states are encouraged to send one-page project proposals to the PLJV staff.
On March 18, the Seward County NRCS and Farm Service Agency (FSA) office in Kansas hosted a CP23a workshop for about a dozen landowners. About 40 playa landowners were targeted for the workshop using FSA digital maps based on aerial photography shot last summer when Seward County experienced higher than average rainfall. Individual maps were made available to landowners who participated in the workshop, and Craig Curtis of the Kansas Dept. of Wildlife and Parks gave a presentation on playa lakes and CP23a. So far, one workshop participant has applied for the program and a couple more are interested, according to District Conservationist Renee Jones.
Both workshops were funded in part through the PLJV's CP23a "seed" grants to states for projects that directly lead to landowner enrollment in the program. So far, more than half a dozen workshops have been conducted in Colorado, Kansas and Texas. Funding is still available and PLJV partner states are encouraged to send one-page project proposals to the PLJV staff.
Follow the Money
>Conservation Security Program:
The Natural Resources Conservation Service is currently accepting applications for the Conservation Security Program which awards financial assistance to private landowners who advance the conservation and improvement of soil, water, energy, plant and wildlife resources on their land. The program is available in specific watersheds throughout the U.S., and as part of the application, landowners must conduct a self-assessment of their stewardship activities. The Center for Rural Affairs has a CSP hotline to assist landowners in the process. Signup for CSP runs through May 27.
> Nebraska Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program:
The USDA recently announced the launch of the Platte-Republican Resource Area Nebraska CREP, a $158 million program which targets water conservation for an approximate two-mile stretch on either side of the Republican and Platte Rivers, and from the Wyoming border to Central Nebraska and covers 100,000 cropland acres near the Republican and Platte rivers and their tributaries. The program will help protect lakes and water sources through the establishment of native grass plantings, permanent wildlife habitat covers, filter strips, riparian buffers and the restoration of wetlands. Sign up begins April 4 at local Farm Service Agency offices, and will continue until Dec. 31, 2007.
> National Fish and Wildlife Foundation:
Pre-proposals are due May 13 for the NFWF's Migratory Bird Conservancy and General Matching Grant programs. The Foundation is also accepting pre-proposals until May 31 for the Conservation on Private Lands grant program, which is being funded through the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
> Colorado Watershed Protection Fund:
Applications are due April 29 for the Colorado Watershed Protection Fund grant program which awards local watersheds financial assistance for projects and planning that protect land and other natural resources in concert with economic development. The fund is supported through voluntary individual donations through the Colorado state income tax refund check-off program.
> International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Multi-State Grant:
IAFWA recently approved a Multi-state Conservation Grant for FY06 to advance all-bird conservation through funding habitat design, project implementation, and monitoring projects. Grants will be available to all 50 states, and a request for proposals is expected to be available later this month. Contact IAFWA's migratory bird coordinator Debbie Hahn for more information.