PLJV Board Member Receives National Wetlands Award
PLJV board member Barth Crouch received the 2005 National Wetlands Award for Wetland Community Leader for his work with the Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams (KAWS) and the PLJV during a Washington D.C. ceremony May 18. Crouch is a founding member and treasurer of KAWS, vice chairman of the PLJV, and a regional biologist for Pheasants Forever.
Crouch was a pivotal leader in the PLJV's efforts to develop a provision under the Conservation Reserve Program targeted to protect playas on private farmland. Even with nearly 30 years dedicated to wetlands and wildlife conservation, Crouch is quick to share credit with his PLJV colleagues for this award.
"Members of the PLJV board are like wetlands themselves - incredibly diverse, yet all work well together. Any one of us could have won that award," Crouch said. "Most of us are self-directed volunteers. It's not just the agency or organization, but the individual that drives our success."
Since 1989, the National Wetlands Awards program has honored exceptional individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary effort, innovation, and excellence in wetland conservation, research, or education through programs or projects at the regional, state, or local level. The program is co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Forest Service, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Federal Highway Administration, and NOAA Fisheries.
School's in Session on Playa Lakes this Summer
This summer is set to impress the importance of playa lakes upon teachers and students with more than a dozen playa educational programs taking place throughout the PLJV region. The wave of events actually began this spring with the first of three Playa Lakes Festivals for kids, which was held May 16 - 18 in Olton, TX, and reached more than 200 students in 3rd through 5th grade. Two more festivals are taking place this summer in Canadian, Texas, and Boise City, Oklahoma, June 14 - 16 and July 19 - 21 respectively. The festivals are organized by the Ogallala Commons, who after this summer will have conducted six festivals over the past two years. The Ogallala Commons is also hosting two teacher training workshops June 21 and 28 in cooperation with the Lubbock Lake Landmark Museum at Texas Tech University.
Teachers from across the PLJV region will be attending a multi-state facilitator training workshop on playa lakes June 8 - 9 in Dodge City, Kansas, hosted by the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education. During the workshop, teachers will receive training on classroom materials and field activities on playas and learn how to host playa lakes teacher workshops in their home states. In Colorado, a private landowner who is also a science teacher will be conducting a teacher training workshop in cooperation with the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory July 12 - 13, complete with playa-side camping on his property and a trip to the John Martin Reservoir to view the traveling playa lakes exhibit. All of these opportunities got off the ground with the help of PLJV/ConocoPhillips grants in 2004 and 2005.
Happenings Around the PLJV:
> June 6: Landowner field day; Hedley, TX; hosted by Texas Prairie Rivers Region; contact Luke Lewis.
> June 8 - 9: Multi-state Playa Lakes Educator Facilitator Training; Dodge City, KS; hosted by the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education; contact Beth Carreno.
> June 14: Fire as a management tool workshop; Milnesand, NM; hosted by The Nature Conservancy; contact Tish McDaniel.
> June 14 - 16: Playa Lakes Festival; Canadian, TX; hosted by Ogallala Commons; contact Darryl Birkenfeld.
> June 15 - 17: Playa Lakes Joint Venture Management Board Meeting; Albuquerque, NM; contact PLJV Coordinator Mike Carter.
> June 21 and 28: Playa Lakes Teacher Training; Lubbock Lake Landmark Museum, Lubbock, TX; hosted by Texas Tech University and Ogallala Commons; contact Sue Shore or Darryl Birkenfeld.
> July 1: Deadline to submit presentation proposals for the Western Wetlands Conference to be held Oct 24-26 in Denver, CO; contact Karen Filipovich.
> Now through July 4: Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory's Mountain Plover Nest Conservation Hotline, open to Colorado and Nebraska landowners; call: 1-888-575-6837.
PLJV board member Barth Crouch received the 2005 National Wetlands Award for Wetland Community Leader for his work with the Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams (KAWS) and the PLJV during a Washington D.C. ceremony May 18. Crouch is a founding member and treasurer of KAWS, vice chairman of the PLJV, and a regional biologist for Pheasants Forever.
Crouch was a pivotal leader in the PLJV's efforts to develop a provision under the Conservation Reserve Program targeted to protect playas on private farmland. Even with nearly 30 years dedicated to wetlands and wildlife conservation, Crouch is quick to share credit with his PLJV colleagues for this award.
"Members of the PLJV board are like wetlands themselves - incredibly diverse, yet all work well together. Any one of us could have won that award," Crouch said. "Most of us are self-directed volunteers. It's not just the agency or organization, but the individual that drives our success."
Since 1989, the National Wetlands Awards program has honored exceptional individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary effort, innovation, and excellence in wetland conservation, research, or education through programs or projects at the regional, state, or local level. The program is co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Forest Service, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Federal Highway Administration, and NOAA Fisheries.
School's in Session on Playa Lakes this Summer
This summer is set to impress the importance of playa lakes upon teachers and students with more than a dozen playa educational programs taking place throughout the PLJV region. The wave of events actually began this spring with the first of three Playa Lakes Festivals for kids, which was held May 16 - 18 in Olton, TX, and reached more than 200 students in 3rd through 5th grade. Two more festivals are taking place this summer in Canadian, Texas, and Boise City, Oklahoma, June 14 - 16 and July 19 - 21 respectively. The festivals are organized by the Ogallala Commons, who after this summer will have conducted six festivals over the past two years. The Ogallala Commons is also hosting two teacher training workshops June 21 and 28 in cooperation with the Lubbock Lake Landmark Museum at Texas Tech University.
Teachers from across the PLJV region will be attending a multi-state facilitator training workshop on playa lakes June 8 - 9 in Dodge City, Kansas, hosted by the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education. During the workshop, teachers will receive training on classroom materials and field activities on playas and learn how to host playa lakes teacher workshops in their home states. In Colorado, a private landowner who is also a science teacher will be conducting a teacher training workshop in cooperation with the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory July 12 - 13, complete with playa-side camping on his property and a trip to the John Martin Reservoir to view the traveling playa lakes exhibit. All of these opportunities got off the ground with the help of PLJV/ConocoPhillips grants in 2004 and 2005.
Happenings Around the PLJV:
> June 6: Landowner field day; Hedley, TX; hosted by Texas Prairie Rivers Region; contact Luke Lewis.
> June 8 - 9: Multi-state Playa Lakes Educator Facilitator Training; Dodge City, KS; hosted by the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education; contact Beth Carreno.
> June 14: Fire as a management tool workshop; Milnesand, NM; hosted by The Nature Conservancy; contact Tish McDaniel.
> June 14 - 16: Playa Lakes Festival; Canadian, TX; hosted by Ogallala Commons; contact Darryl Birkenfeld.
> June 15 - 17: Playa Lakes Joint Venture Management Board Meeting; Albuquerque, NM; contact PLJV Coordinator Mike Carter.
> June 21 and 28: Playa Lakes Teacher Training; Lubbock Lake Landmark Museum, Lubbock, TX; hosted by Texas Tech University and Ogallala Commons; contact Sue Shore or Darryl Birkenfeld.
> July 1: Deadline to submit presentation proposals for the Western Wetlands Conference to be held Oct 24-26 in Denver, CO; contact Karen Filipovich.
> Now through July 4: Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory's Mountain Plover Nest Conservation Hotline, open to Colorado and Nebraska landowners; call: 1-888-575-6837.
PLJV Region Garners $350,000 in Neotrop Act Grants
Three conservation partnerships received a total of $350,909 in grants from the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA) program for research, outreach and bird habitat conservation efforts throughout the PLJV region, Mexico and South America. The largest grant in the region went to The Nature Conservancy who, in cooperation with the PLJV, will use a $250,000 NMBCA grant and $750,000 in partner funds to secure conservation easements on 4,000 acres of grassland in eastern Colorado, and acquire 46,500 acres of the Janos Grasslands in the Mexican state of Chihuahua to benefit declining grassland bird species. The grant will also support continued bird monitoring efforts in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico, and private landowner outreach activities in eastern New Mexico.
The Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory was awarded a $26,666 NMBCA grant to support the second year of its playa survey project in eastern Colorado. RMBO researchers are gathering valuable information on playa location, condition and bird use which will assist PLJV in its biological planning efforts. Partners such as the PLJV, Colorado Division and Wildlife and the Environmental Protection Agency have contributed $114,860 to the project. Kansas State University was awarded a $74,243 NMBCA grant to research the effects of agricultural pesticides on neotropical migratory shorebirds. KSU researchers, working in conjunction with Texas Tech University, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will sample six stopover sites in Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas and non-breeding sites in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Partners have provided $224,309 in match for this project.
This is the fifth year of the NMBCA program, which is authorized by Congress to award grants to support neotropical migratory bird conservation efforts such as: habitat protection, management and restoration, bird monitoring and research, law enforcement, and outreach and education efforts in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Follow the Money:
> North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grants (NAWCA):
Applicants should now be putting the final touches on project proposals for NAWCA Standard Grants, which are due by July 29. The NAWCA program awards up to $1 million grants for projects that conserve wetlands and associated wildlife through acquisition, restoration and/or enhancement within Joint Venture boundaries. The PLJV recommends that potential applicants begin the standard grant proposal process about a year in advance, and has prepared a NAWCA timeline to assist partners in organizing a grant submission. Standard Grant proposals are due in early March and late July each year, and it's not too soon to begin putting together projects for 2006.
It's also not too early to begin working on NAWCA Small Grant applications, which are due December 2, 2005. Small grants award up to $50,000 for wetlands projects that benefit wildlife, and have a less rigorous application process than Standard grants. The PLJV has recently put together a NAWCA Small Grant Checklist to assist partners in preparing applications. Contact the PLJV staff at (303) 926-0777 if you are considering applying for either a NAWCA Standard or Small grant in 2006.
> Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program (WREP):
The Natural Resources Conservation Service is now accepting proposals for the Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program (WREP). About $4 million is available through the WREP for partnership projects with the NRCS that help create, enhance or manage wetlands on existing easements or contribute to technical assistance costs to implement WRP. Proposals are due June 30 to NRCS State Conservationists.
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.