New Mexico's First State Private Land Grant Includes Playa Project
The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) awarded $3,500 to a Roosevelt County rancher for improvements on two playa lakes as part of the first private land grant program in the state. The $3,500 project involves fencing two 1.5 and 6 acre playa wetlands and creating 10 and 40 acre buffers by restoring native vegetation and installing a pipeline and drip line. The landowner will match the grant 50/50 to complete the project. Improvements will benefit migrating birds and other wildlife, including resident species such as: Long-Billed Curlew, Scaled Quail, longspur, Cassin's Sparrow, prairie dog and pronghorn. In addition to the playa project, $22,000 was awarded to another Roosevelt County rancher for managing livestock grazing to improve habitat for Scaled Quail, Northern Bobwhite and Lesser Prairie-Chicken. The two awards were the first state landowner incentive grants for conservation on private property approved by the New Mexico legislature. Both project proposals were co-written by Dawn Davis of NMDGF and Tish McDaniel who is supported by the PLJV to develop projects on private land in the Joint Venture region of New Mexico. Similar efforts have been supported by the PLJV in other member states.
Nebraska Hosts PLJV for Summer Board Meeting
The PLJV Management Board will gather in Scottsbluff, Nebraska for its summer meeting June 10 - 12. This is the first time the Board and PLJV committees will meet in western Nebraska, which was officially adopted into the PLJV administrative boundaries at the last board meeting in January. The adopted area includes portions of 11 counties that fall in the shortgrass prairie bird conservation region and includes several thousand playa lakes. Highlights from the meeting will be detailed in the next edition of the Post.
Playa lakes exhibit travels to Mobeetie, Texas
A unique exhibit that illustrates the importance of playa lakes to the Texas Panhandle and High Plains is coming June 1 to Mobeetie, a small town nestled on the eastern edge of the Panhandle about 12 miles east of Wheeler. Playas: Gems of the Plains, is a traveling exhibit project of the Northwest Texas Museum Association and PRIAM - Prehistoric Resources Identification, Assessment and Management - of Panhandle, Texas. The exhibit, which debuted at the Amarillo Botanical Gardens January 12, 2003, is touring through Panhandle-area museums and exhibit sites for the next three years. This summer, Playas will make an extended stop at the Old Mobeetie Jail Museum from June 1 through July 30. Initial funding for the exhibit was provided by the PLJV.
The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) awarded $3,500 to a Roosevelt County rancher for improvements on two playa lakes as part of the first private land grant program in the state. The $3,500 project involves fencing two 1.5 and 6 acre playa wetlands and creating 10 and 40 acre buffers by restoring native vegetation and installing a pipeline and drip line. The landowner will match the grant 50/50 to complete the project. Improvements will benefit migrating birds and other wildlife, including resident species such as: Long-Billed Curlew, Scaled Quail, longspur, Cassin's Sparrow, prairie dog and pronghorn. In addition to the playa project, $22,000 was awarded to another Roosevelt County rancher for managing livestock grazing to improve habitat for Scaled Quail, Northern Bobwhite and Lesser Prairie-Chicken. The two awards were the first state landowner incentive grants for conservation on private property approved by the New Mexico legislature. Both project proposals were co-written by Dawn Davis of NMDGF and Tish McDaniel who is supported by the PLJV to develop projects on private land in the Joint Venture region of New Mexico. Similar efforts have been supported by the PLJV in other member states.
Nebraska Hosts PLJV for Summer Board Meeting
The PLJV Management Board will gather in Scottsbluff, Nebraska for its summer meeting June 10 - 12. This is the first time the Board and PLJV committees will meet in western Nebraska, which was officially adopted into the PLJV administrative boundaries at the last board meeting in January. The adopted area includes portions of 11 counties that fall in the shortgrass prairie bird conservation region and includes several thousand playa lakes. Highlights from the meeting will be detailed in the next edition of the Post.
Playa lakes exhibit travels to Mobeetie, Texas
A unique exhibit that illustrates the importance of playa lakes to the Texas Panhandle and High Plains is coming June 1 to Mobeetie, a small town nestled on the eastern edge of the Panhandle about 12 miles east of Wheeler. Playas: Gems of the Plains, is a traveling exhibit project of the Northwest Texas Museum Association and PRIAM - Prehistoric Resources Identification, Assessment and Management - of Panhandle, Texas. The exhibit, which debuted at the Amarillo Botanical Gardens January 12, 2003, is touring through Panhandle-area museums and exhibit sites for the next three years. This summer, Playas will make an extended stop at the Old Mobeetie Jail Museum from June 1 through July 30. Initial funding for the exhibit was provided by the PLJV.
Playa Post ©2003 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.
USDA Provides $23 Million for Water Conservation to PLJV Landowners
The USDA has made available more than $23 million to landowners in PLJV states to help farmers and ranchers implement technologies and practices to conserve water and mitigate the long-term impacts of drought. Texas is slated to receive $7 million, Nebraska $5.6 million, Colorado $4.3 million, Kansas $4.1 million, New Mexico $1.3 million and Oklahoma $1 million. The money is available from USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) through the Ground and Surface Water Conservation (GSWC) provision of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), authorized in the 2002 Farm Bill. States that receive these funds will provide cost-share and incentive payments to producers who undertake eligible water conservation activities, including irrigation improvements, conversion to less water intensive crops and dryland farming. The $23 million to PLJV states is part of an overall $53 million water conservation incentive program for 17 drought-ridden states. The PLJV is encouraging resource managers and NRCS officials to allow playa conservation activities that protect the water supply of the Ogallala Aquifer.
In other Farm Bill news, the sign-up deadline for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has been extended from May 30 to June 13. And starting June 16, sign-up will begin for the Grasslands Reserve Program (GRP) which, in the PLJV region, will target drought affected areas in Colorado and Lesser Prairie-Chicken habitat in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
In other Farm Bill news, the sign-up deadline for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has been extended from May 30 to June 13. And starting June 16, sign-up will begin for the Grasslands Reserve Program (GRP) which, in the PLJV region, will target drought affected areas in Colorado and Lesser Prairie-Chicken habitat in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
Kansas Courts PLJV to Talk about Playas and Recharge
PLJV Coordinator Mike Carter met with top Kansas officials May 15 to discuss the critical role of playa lakes in aquifer recharge. Carter presented information to state officials including the Secretary of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Secretary of the Department of Health and Environment, Secretary of the Agriculture Department, Director of the Kansas Water Office, and the Executive Director of the Kansas State Conservation Commission. "This is a new and emerging issue for the PLJV," Carter said. "If we can tie aquifer recharge and protection to playa protection, then we can directly benefit landowners and wildlife with the same programs." Carter made great headway communicating about playa lakes' role in replenishing and protecting the Ogallala Aquifer, and state leaders asked him to present information to local legislators around western Kansas. His next stop will be in Atwood, Kansas June 26.
PLJV Coordinator Mike Carter met with top Kansas officials May 15 to discuss the critical role of playa lakes in aquifer recharge. Carter presented information to state officials including the Secretary of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Secretary of the Department of Health and Environment, Secretary of the Agriculture Department, Director of the Kansas Water Office, and the Executive Director of the Kansas State Conservation Commission. "This is a new and emerging issue for the PLJV," Carter said. "If we can tie aquifer recharge and protection to playa protection, then we can directly benefit landowners and wildlife with the same programs." Carter made great headway communicating about playa lakes' role in replenishing and protecting the Ogallala Aquifer, and state leaders asked him to present information to local legislators around western Kansas. His next stop will be in Atwood, Kansas June 26.