Policy News: Kansas Lawmaker Conducts Annual ‘Conservation Tour’

If you preserve it, they will come; if you conserve it, they will stay. On April 7 and 8, 1st District Congressman Jerry Moran (R-KS) held his 9th Annual Conservation Tour, which focuses on conservation accomplishments and/or issues facing federal programs in his home state... (MORE)

Policy Update: New Field Guide to Farm Bill Available

The Farm Bill is one of the most important tools enacted by Congress for restoring, enhancing, and protecting habitat on private lands. As the number of conservation programs has increased since the 1985 Farm Bill, so have the amount of funds authorized to further conservation on private lands. The 2008 farm Bill authorized approximately $23 billion for a five-year period... (MORE)

Science News: National Wildlife Organizations Convene Conference to Address Climate Change

The National Council for Science and the Environment, Wildlife Habitat Policy Research Program and the National Wildlife Federation recently convened “Adaptation 2009: Safeguarding Fish, Wildlife and Natural Systems in the Face of Climate Change.” This innovative conference made an important contribution to advancing the dialogue about how natural resource management and conservation efforts, like those of the PLJV, will need to be transformed to meet the challenges of climate change... (MORE)

Mapping News: Center for Geospatial Technology at Texas Tech University to Launch Website of Ogallala Aquifer Maps and Data

This website is organized into two parts: (1) Ogallala Maps & Data and (2) Texas Maps.  The Ogallala Maps & Data section contains aquifer information for 41 Texas counties for a 15-year study period from 1990 to 2004. Included in the Texas Counties subsection are maps and graphs of the water in storage, change in water in storage, the saturated thickness, and the change in saturated thickness for each county...(MORE)

Science Update: WILDLIFE—90 Years of Bird-Watching Notes Becoming Available to PLJV

The U.S. Geological Survey plans to post nearly a century of observations from amateur bird-watchers, a resource scientists say could help them understand the impacts of climate change on avian behavior. Observations indicate that climate change is already altering bird migration patterns and population distribution, and scientists hope the century of continuous data will allow them to better track changes...(MORE)

Outreach Update: EnCana and Colorado DOW Produce Wildlife Video

EnCana and the Colorado Division of Wildlife have produced a training DVD that gives energy workers information to minimize their impacts to Colorado wildlife and wildlife habitat. Wildlife in Colorado: What You Need to Know is designed to give energy workers a basic overview of the animals they might encounter when working in Colorado's oil and gas fields...(MORE)

Policy News: Senate Bill Introduced to Conserve Rapidly Disappearing Migratory Birds

Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Water and Wildlife Subcommittee, has introduced bipartisan legislation to boost funding for the conservation of migratory birds.  Cosponsors of the bill include Senators Mike Crapo
(R-ID), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Bill Nelson (D-FL), and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT)...(MORE)

PLJV ‘Channel’ Debuts on YouTube

In an effort to expand its communications tools and outreach activities, the Playa Lakes Joint Venture has joined YouTube, the online video-sharing phenomenon that encourages people to Broadcast Yourself. The PLJV ‘Channel’ is home to six videos, chapters taken directly from the PLJV film produced in 2006,The Playas: Reflections of Life on the Plains. Plans are also underway to edit together a compressed, 7-minute version of the film.

The new “channel” on YouTube will help PLJV establish a growing online presence and help build name recognition outside of the six-state boundary it currently supports. PLJV also recently established a Facebook page, “Friends of the Playa Lakes Joint Venture,” to facilitate online discussions and share more current birding news.  

“We’re excited about using emerging technologies and the Internet to help get the PLJV mission out,” says PLJV Communications Director Michael Soloway. “The Playa Post and Playa Country Radio remain our main forms of communication, but the Internet is proving to be an important and viable medium, especially for nonprofits who don’t have the budgets to devote to costly advertising.”

To watch, rate and/or make comments about the PLJV videos, visit www.youtube.com/user/PlayaLakes

Also in the News:

• New report says Ogallala Aquifer down since 1950
• Bird counts signal shift northward to South Plains
• Predicted Increase in Ethanol Production Poses No Changes in Land Use
• Kansas gives prairie chickens to Missouri
• Spring months bring more controlled burns
• Renewable Energy's Environmental Paradox

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