Playa Lakes Exhibit Wins National Award
Playas: Gems of the Plains, a traveling exhibit of the Northwest Texas Museum Association, received an Excellence in Exhibition award from the American Association of Museums for 2004. Five winners were chosen in this national competition. The playa exhibit was singled out for its creativity and focus on small museums. This is the second national award to be bestowed upon the exhibit. In June 2003, Playas was awarded a Certificate of Commendation from the American Association for State and Local History in a national competition of regional exhibits.
The exhibit is designed to be viewed in the round, like a playa lake. Visitors walk around 20 panels arranged in a circle covering a wide range of topics about playas, including development, function, ecology, cultural history, natural history, art, uses and abuses. They can then walk inside the circle, into the 'playarama' with its 360-degree panoramic photograph taken from inside a playa, to reflect on what they have learned or to participate in an educational program.
Major funding for Playas was provided by the Amarillo Area Foundation, the Meadows Foundation and the Playa Lakes Joint Venture. The exhibit was designed and produced by PRIAM of Panhandle, TX. The exhibit is in the middle of a three-year tour of the High Plains playa lakes region, visiting 18 venues in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma. Currently the exhibit is at the Roberts County Museum in Miami, Texas. For more information about the exhibit or to request a tour schedule, email Dr. Paul Katz of PRIAM.
PLJV Partners Explore WRP for Colorado Playas
Members of the Prairie and Wetlands Focus Area Committee met May 21 in southeast Colorado to investigate how playas might better qualify for the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). The WRP is an initiative of the 2002 Farm Bill which pays landowners to restore wetlands and/or retire them from production. Committee members representating the PLJV, Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (RMBO), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), The Nature Conservancy and Colorado Division of Wildlife toured five playas in Cheyenne County and met with a landowner who has protected his playa through the Conservation Reserve (NRCS) and Partners for Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) Programs. The group also sampled soil and vegetation of several dry playas.
Playa Post ©2004 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.
Playas: Gems of the Plains, a traveling exhibit of the Northwest Texas Museum Association, received an Excellence in Exhibition award from the American Association of Museums for 2004. Five winners were chosen in this national competition. The playa exhibit was singled out for its creativity and focus on small museums. This is the second national award to be bestowed upon the exhibit. In June 2003, Playas was awarded a Certificate of Commendation from the American Association for State and Local History in a national competition of regional exhibits.
The exhibit is designed to be viewed in the round, like a playa lake. Visitors walk around 20 panels arranged in a circle covering a wide range of topics about playas, including development, function, ecology, cultural history, natural history, art, uses and abuses. They can then walk inside the circle, into the 'playarama' with its 360-degree panoramic photograph taken from inside a playa, to reflect on what they have learned or to participate in an educational program.
Major funding for Playas was provided by the Amarillo Area Foundation, the Meadows Foundation and the Playa Lakes Joint Venture. The exhibit was designed and produced by PRIAM of Panhandle, TX. The exhibit is in the middle of a three-year tour of the High Plains playa lakes region, visiting 18 venues in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma. Currently the exhibit is at the Roberts County Museum in Miami, Texas. For more information about the exhibit or to request a tour schedule, email Dr. Paul Katz of PRIAM.
PLJV Partners Explore WRP for Colorado Playas
Members of the Prairie and Wetlands Focus Area Committee met May 21 in southeast Colorado to investigate how playas might better qualify for the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). The WRP is an initiative of the 2002 Farm Bill which pays landowners to restore wetlands and/or retire them from production. Committee members representating the PLJV, Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (RMBO), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), The Nature Conservancy and Colorado Division of Wildlife toured five playas in Cheyenne County and met with a landowner who has protected his playa through the Conservation Reserve (NRCS) and Partners for Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) Programs. The group also sampled soil and vegetation of several dry playas.
"For as dry as the playas looked, it was pretty amazing how much wetland-dependent vegetation and hydric soils we found," said Alison Cariveau of the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory. The field day provided "food for thought" for NRCS to take back to state technical committee meetings on how playas fit into their rankings, Cariveau said.
Next week, the Committee will be hosting a workshop for landowners and resource managers designed to familiarize participants with prairie birds by sight and sound, and share knowledge about range management and monitoring, drought issues and partnership opportunities, among other topics. The workshop will be held Friday, June 11 from 8 am to 3 pm and includes lunch. For more information, contact Tammy VerCauteren of RMBO at (970) 482-1707.
Playa Post ©2004 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.
Kansas Creating a Wave of Momentum for Playa Protection
PLJV Partner Profile: Kansas Dept. of Wildlife and Parks
The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) has made significant headway in its effort to deliver playa conservation in recent years. Since 2001, the KDWP created the first playa lease program, expanded its conservation efforts into northwest Kansas, and has helped convince top state officials about the importance of playas. "Put all those things together and you have a machine that is cranking things out and getting things done," said Joe Kramer, Division Director of Fisheries and Wildlife for KDWP and PLJV board member.
It's no surprise that KDWP is cranking; the department has a history of "getting things done" in the PLJV region. Kansas was the first state of the Joint Venture partnership to be awarded a North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant in 1990 to purchase Wild Turkey Playa. To date, KDWP and partners have been awarded approximately $7 million in NAWCA grants for 11 projects totaling more than $24 million. In addition to Wild Turkey Playa, KDWP owns and manages Stein and Herron playa in Ford County and has enrolled several playas in the department's lease program which pays landowners to conserve playas and establish native grass buffers around them.
But the department's accomplishments aren't just on the ground. "What sometimes goes unnoticed is the overall education that is created over time," Kramer said. "People now have an understanding of playas where back in the early 90s they didn't know what a playa was." This understanding is evidenced by new legislation introduced by Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts to expand the Farmable Wetlands Program to include playas, and recent push by the Kansas office of the Natural Resource Conservation Service to enroll playas in the Wetlands Reserve Program.
Integral to this momentum was a meeting the KDWP organized between the PLJV and state cabinet leaders last year. "The cabinet level meeting was a high point in the work that has been done in the past 14 years," Kramer said. "We had state level folks agreeing that playas are important to our landscape, water and quality of life." Kramer says the department will continue to ride this wave of momentum and focus on getting money on the ground for playa protection work.
Next week, the KDWP will host the PLJV's summer board meeting in Colby, Kansas. News from the meeting will appear in the next Playa Post.
Kansas Alliance Kicks Off New Western Chapters
The Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams (KAWS) hosted a seminar May 13 in Kismet to jump start the new Cimarron Chapter which will cover eight counties in southwest Kansas. The one-day seminar featured several presentations from wetland and wildlife conservation experts on playas, stream restoration, threatened and endangered species and conservation programs available to landowners. About 30 people attended the seminar, including several landowners and representatives from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Tetra Tech, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The meeting piqued interest and the group will convene again in July to discuss organizational details. KAWS will host another kick-off meeting for the Solomon Chapter in northern central Kansas June 17 in Smith Center. Contact John Bond for more information.
The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) has made significant headway in its effort to deliver playa conservation in recent years. Since 2001, the KDWP created the first playa lease program, expanded its conservation efforts into northwest Kansas, and has helped convince top state officials about the importance of playas. "Put all those things together and you have a machine that is cranking things out and getting things done," said Joe Kramer, Division Director of Fisheries and Wildlife for KDWP and PLJV board member.
It's no surprise that KDWP is cranking; the department has a history of "getting things done" in the PLJV region. Kansas was the first state of the Joint Venture partnership to be awarded a North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant in 1990 to purchase Wild Turkey Playa. To date, KDWP and partners have been awarded approximately $7 million in NAWCA grants for 11 projects totaling more than $24 million. In addition to Wild Turkey Playa, KDWP owns and manages Stein and Herron playa in Ford County and has enrolled several playas in the department's lease program which pays landowners to conserve playas and establish native grass buffers around them.
But the department's accomplishments aren't just on the ground. "What sometimes goes unnoticed is the overall education that is created over time," Kramer said. "People now have an understanding of playas where back in the early 90s they didn't know what a playa was." This understanding is evidenced by new legislation introduced by Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts to expand the Farmable Wetlands Program to include playas, and recent push by the Kansas office of the Natural Resource Conservation Service to enroll playas in the Wetlands Reserve Program.
Integral to this momentum was a meeting the KDWP organized between the PLJV and state cabinet leaders last year. "The cabinet level meeting was a high point in the work that has been done in the past 14 years," Kramer said. "We had state level folks agreeing that playas are important to our landscape, water and quality of life." Kramer says the department will continue to ride this wave of momentum and focus on getting money on the ground for playa protection work.
Next week, the KDWP will host the PLJV's summer board meeting in Colby, Kansas. News from the meeting will appear in the next Playa Post.
Kansas Alliance Kicks Off New Western Chapters
The Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams (KAWS) hosted a seminar May 13 in Kismet to jump start the new Cimarron Chapter which will cover eight counties in southwest Kansas. The one-day seminar featured several presentations from wetland and wildlife conservation experts on playas, stream restoration, threatened and endangered species and conservation programs available to landowners. About 30 people attended the seminar, including several landowners and representatives from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Tetra Tech, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The meeting piqued interest and the group will convene again in July to discuss organizational details. KAWS will host another kick-off meeting for the Solomon Chapter in northern central Kansas June 17 in Smith Center. Contact John Bond for more information.