Texas Awarded NAWCA Small Grant to Restore Cattail Lake
Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPW) was awarded a $50,000 North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) Small Grant to restore Cattail Lake to its former glory. The lake, which is located on TPW's Taylor Lakes Unit of the Playa Lakes Management Area in Donley County near Clarendon, is currently filled with sediment and inundated with emergent vegetation. TPW, along with project partner Ducks Unlimited, will enhance the lake by removing 18 inches of sediment and overgrown cattail plants, creating open water environment and encouraging the growth of aquatic and moist soil plants which are important foods for wetland-dependent birds. Along with restoring Cattail Lake, project partners will dig a well and install a pump and delivery pipe to manage water on three nearby wetlands. Several funding partners helped secure the NAWCA grant. TPW, Ducks Unlimited and the PLJV, through its ConocoPhillips funds, contributed $76,391, bringing the total project value to $126,391. The next deadline to submit a proposal for a NAWCA Small Grant is November 28, 2003.
Famed Playa Book Duo Guests of Honor at Playa Exhibit
Wyman Meinzer and Jim Steiert, photographer and writer, respectively, of Playas: Jewels of the Plains, will be on hand during the next two openings of the playa lakes exhibit which is touring around the Texas Panhandle. Meinzer will be the guest of honor at the XIT Museum in Dalhart, where the exhibit will be on display from August 5 through October 1. The museum is hosting an artist reception for Meinzer August 8 where he will show his playa images and sign copies of the book. Steiert will be on hand during the opening of the exhibit at Hereford's Deaf Smith County Museum October 5. The exhibit will be in Hereford until November 26. Steiert, who lives in Hereford, is a former PLJV board member. Publishing of Playas: Jewels of the Plains was funded in part by the PLJV. Click here to learn more about the book and order it online.
Oklahoma Alliance Hosting Landowner Outreach Days
The Oklahoma Wildlife and Prairie Heritage Alliance (OWPHA) is hosting a series of landowner outreach days in towns around the Oklahoma Panhandle to teach ranchers and farmers about the different wildlife conservation programs and opportunities available in the region. The first meeting will take place August 14 at the Harmon Fire Department at 6:30 p.m. For dates and locations of the other meetings, contact OWPHA Coordinator Trapper Heglin.
Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPW) was awarded a $50,000 North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) Small Grant to restore Cattail Lake to its former glory. The lake, which is located on TPW's Taylor Lakes Unit of the Playa Lakes Management Area in Donley County near Clarendon, is currently filled with sediment and inundated with emergent vegetation. TPW, along with project partner Ducks Unlimited, will enhance the lake by removing 18 inches of sediment and overgrown cattail plants, creating open water environment and encouraging the growth of aquatic and moist soil plants which are important foods for wetland-dependent birds. Along with restoring Cattail Lake, project partners will dig a well and install a pump and delivery pipe to manage water on three nearby wetlands. Several funding partners helped secure the NAWCA grant. TPW, Ducks Unlimited and the PLJV, through its ConocoPhillips funds, contributed $76,391, bringing the total project value to $126,391. The next deadline to submit a proposal for a NAWCA Small Grant is November 28, 2003.
Famed Playa Book Duo Guests of Honor at Playa Exhibit
Wyman Meinzer and Jim Steiert, photographer and writer, respectively, of Playas: Jewels of the Plains, will be on hand during the next two openings of the playa lakes exhibit which is touring around the Texas Panhandle. Meinzer will be the guest of honor at the XIT Museum in Dalhart, where the exhibit will be on display from August 5 through October 1. The museum is hosting an artist reception for Meinzer August 8 where he will show his playa images and sign copies of the book. Steiert will be on hand during the opening of the exhibit at Hereford's Deaf Smith County Museum October 5. The exhibit will be in Hereford until November 26. Steiert, who lives in Hereford, is a former PLJV board member. Publishing of Playas: Jewels of the Plains was funded in part by the PLJV. Click here to learn more about the book and order it online.
Oklahoma Alliance Hosting Landowner Outreach Days
The Oklahoma Wildlife and Prairie Heritage Alliance (OWPHA) is hosting a series of landowner outreach days in towns around the Oklahoma Panhandle to teach ranchers and farmers about the different wildlife conservation programs and opportunities available in the region. The first meeting will take place August 14 at the Harmon Fire Department at 6:30 p.m. For dates and locations of the other meetings, contact OWPHA Coordinator Trapper Heglin.
Texas Panhandle Water Table Dropped 1.06 Ft. in 2002
The High Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. 1 (HPWD) is reporting that last year, the water table dropped an average of 1.06 feet in the 15 Texas Panhandle counties it serves. The counties include Bailey, Cochran, Hale, Lubbock, Lynn and Parmer as well as portions of Armstrong, Castro, Crosby, Deaf Smith, Floyd, Hockley, Lamb, Potter and Randall Counties, an area covering 10,728 square miles. The drop is greater than last year by 0.28 of a foot, but is less than the average decline over the past decade of 1.31 feet. District employees measured more than 1,200 private wells in January and February 2003, when water levels were stable after the irrigation and pumping season ended. "This decline is probably due to a number of reasons, but primarily, a lack of precipitation at opportune times resulted in the requirement of additional ground water pumpage last year," said Don McReynolds, geologist/technical division director.
Declining water tables threaten the function and value of important bird habitat in the PLJV region such as streams and saline lakes, which are partially fed by groundwater. The news also drives home the need to protect playa lakes, which are the primary source of recharge for the Ogallala Aquifer. The entire report is available in the April 2003 issue of the HPWD's Cross Section newsletter.
Declining water tables threaten the function and value of important bird habitat in the PLJV region such as streams and saline lakes, which are partially fed by groundwater. The news also drives home the need to protect playa lakes, which are the primary source of recharge for the Ogallala Aquifer. The entire report is available in the April 2003 issue of the HPWD's Cross Section newsletter.
PLJV Launches New Educators' Resource Guide
Teachers craving classroom resources on playa lakes - look no further. The PLJV has tracked down dozens of educational materials on playa lakes, associated uplands and birds. They are are all showcased in the new PLJV Educators' Resource Guide in the Education section of the PLJV web site. The Guide is a detailed index of books, magazine articles, videos, activity guides, field trip opportunities, etc. focused on playa lakes, including information on how to obtain copies of everything. The Guide also highlights PLJV partners' environmental education programs and services. If you know of a resource that is not on the list, email your suggestion to Debbie Slobe.
Southeast Colorado Focus Area Committee Taking Shape
The Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (RMBO) is leading an effort to form a southeast Colorado focus area committee (FAC) - a grass-roots coalition of resource managers, landowners and conservationists dedicated to protecting wetlands in the area. RMBO will host the first meeting of the FAC in Pueblo August 8. Stay tuned to future editions of the Playa Post for FAC updates.
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.
Teachers craving classroom resources on playa lakes - look no further. The PLJV has tracked down dozens of educational materials on playa lakes, associated uplands and birds. They are are all showcased in the new PLJV Educators' Resource Guide in the Education section of the PLJV web site. The Guide is a detailed index of books, magazine articles, videos, activity guides, field trip opportunities, etc. focused on playa lakes, including information on how to obtain copies of everything. The Guide also highlights PLJV partners' environmental education programs and services. If you know of a resource that is not on the list, email your suggestion to Debbie Slobe.
Southeast Colorado Focus Area Committee Taking Shape
The Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (RMBO) is leading an effort to form a southeast Colorado focus area committee (FAC) - a grass-roots coalition of resource managers, landowners and conservationists dedicated to protecting wetlands in the area. RMBO will host the first meeting of the FAC in Pueblo August 8. Stay tuned to future editions of the Playa Post for FAC updates.
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.