PLJV Region Cashes In on Private Stewardship Grants
The PLJV region received more than $750,000 in 2004 Private Stewardship Grants (PSG) awarded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for habitat projects on private land benefiting species at risk.
A rancher-led initiative in western Kansas to manage mixed-grass prairie and streams for species at risk received a boost of $109,230 to continue the project. In western Nebraska, Platte River Basin Environments, Inc. was awarded $108,500 to remove invasive woody vegetation, enhance backwater sloughs and create wet meadows along the North Platte River. A grant of $153,300 will help seven landowners in eastern New Mexico restore two playa lakes and 16,000 acres of short grass prairie for species at risk such as Lesser Prairie-Chickens and Mountain Plovers.
In eastern Colorado, a grant of $17,570 will be used to establish a black-tailed prairie dog colony on native range in Elbert County which will benefit a number of avian species at risk, and $114,675 will go to a joint project with South Dakota to restore native shortgrass on six private sites. The joint project includes removing a pit on a 32-acre playa in Lincoln County which is surrounded by high-quality burrowing owl, mountain plover and raptor habitat. Both PSG awards were garnered by members of the Prairie and Wetlands Focus Area Committee, a grassroots conservation coalition led by the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory and funded in part by the PLJV.
The Nature Conservancy was awarded two grants in western Oklahoma - $65,500 to control salt cedar and eastern red cedar on 300 acres of the Canadian River within the Conservancy's Four Canyon Preserve, and $160,648 to use fire to restore native vegetation on private land. The two projects will improve habitat for Least Terns, Snowy Plovers, Bells' Vireos, Swainson's Hawks and Lesser Prairie-Chickens. Prairie-Chickens will also benefit from a joint project in Oklahoma and Texas where Sutton Avian Research was awarded $53,800 to remove and mark fences in hopes of reducing prairie-chicken collisions and mortality.
Visit the Private Stewardship Grant Program web site for more information.
Kansas to Host Playa Lake Workshop for Educators
The Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education (KACEE) will kick off its annual conference in Dodge City, Kansas, with a playa lakes workshop November 4.
The workshop will consist of speakers, hands-on activities and field investigations that provide participants with an understanding of playa ecology, wildlife values and conservation issues. Participants will also learn about a variety of playa educational resources from around the state. In addition, a team of high school students will demonstrate how to use GPS (global positioning system) to map playas.
The workshop is open to educators of all grade levels, resource management agency personnel, natural resources professionals, and conservation organization members. The cost of the workshop is $35 and includes lunch.
KACEE will also host a multi-state facilitator training on playas June 8-9, 2005. Using information from this workshop, individuals will be trained to conduct effective playa education in each PLJV state. Educators interested in attending the June 2005 workshop should contact Beth Carreno.
Playa Author Receives Wildlife Society Book Award
Dr. Loren Smith, professor of wildlife ecology at Texas Tech University and former PLJV board member, received the 2004 Outstanding Book Award from The Wildlife Society for his work, Playas of the Great Plains, which was published November 2003 by the University of Texas Press. The book summarizes all that is known about Great Plains playa ecology and conservation. Smith synthesizes his 20 years of playa research and other published studies to define playas and characterize their origins and development, as well as the composition and diversity of their plant and animal communities. He also explores the human relationship with playas from prehistoric times, when they served as campsites for Clovis peoples, to today's environmental threats to playa ecosystems. To purchase the book, click here.
The PLJV region received more than $750,000 in 2004 Private Stewardship Grants (PSG) awarded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for habitat projects on private land benefiting species at risk.
A rancher-led initiative in western Kansas to manage mixed-grass prairie and streams for species at risk received a boost of $109,230 to continue the project. In western Nebraska, Platte River Basin Environments, Inc. was awarded $108,500 to remove invasive woody vegetation, enhance backwater sloughs and create wet meadows along the North Platte River. A grant of $153,300 will help seven landowners in eastern New Mexico restore two playa lakes and 16,000 acres of short grass prairie for species at risk such as Lesser Prairie-Chickens and Mountain Plovers.
In eastern Colorado, a grant of $17,570 will be used to establish a black-tailed prairie dog colony on native range in Elbert County which will benefit a number of avian species at risk, and $114,675 will go to a joint project with South Dakota to restore native shortgrass on six private sites. The joint project includes removing a pit on a 32-acre playa in Lincoln County which is surrounded by high-quality burrowing owl, mountain plover and raptor habitat. Both PSG awards were garnered by members of the Prairie and Wetlands Focus Area Committee, a grassroots conservation coalition led by the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory and funded in part by the PLJV.
The Nature Conservancy was awarded two grants in western Oklahoma - $65,500 to control salt cedar and eastern red cedar on 300 acres of the Canadian River within the Conservancy's Four Canyon Preserve, and $160,648 to use fire to restore native vegetation on private land. The two projects will improve habitat for Least Terns, Snowy Plovers, Bells' Vireos, Swainson's Hawks and Lesser Prairie-Chickens. Prairie-Chickens will also benefit from a joint project in Oklahoma and Texas where Sutton Avian Research was awarded $53,800 to remove and mark fences in hopes of reducing prairie-chicken collisions and mortality.
Visit the Private Stewardship Grant Program web site for more information.
Kansas to Host Playa Lake Workshop for Educators
The Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education (KACEE) will kick off its annual conference in Dodge City, Kansas, with a playa lakes workshop November 4.
The workshop will consist of speakers, hands-on activities and field investigations that provide participants with an understanding of playa ecology, wildlife values and conservation issues. Participants will also learn about a variety of playa educational resources from around the state. In addition, a team of high school students will demonstrate how to use GPS (global positioning system) to map playas.
The workshop is open to educators of all grade levels, resource management agency personnel, natural resources professionals, and conservation organization members. The cost of the workshop is $35 and includes lunch.
KACEE will also host a multi-state facilitator training on playas June 8-9, 2005. Using information from this workshop, individuals will be trained to conduct effective playa education in each PLJV state. Educators interested in attending the June 2005 workshop should contact Beth Carreno.
Playa Author Receives Wildlife Society Book Award
Dr. Loren Smith, professor of wildlife ecology at Texas Tech University and former PLJV board member, received the 2004 Outstanding Book Award from The Wildlife Society for his work, Playas of the Great Plains, which was published November 2003 by the University of Texas Press. The book summarizes all that is known about Great Plains playa ecology and conservation. Smith synthesizes his 20 years of playa research and other published studies to define playas and characterize their origins and development, as well as the composition and diversity of their plant and animal communities. He also explores the human relationship with playas from prehistoric times, when they served as campsites for Clovis peoples, to today's environmental threats to playa ecosystems. To purchase the book, click here.
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.
New CRP Initiatives Spell
Good News for Birds
Signup begins today for a new initiative under the Farm Bill's Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) aimed at protecting playa lakes, one of the most important wetland habitats for birds in the High Plains. The Wetlands Restoration Non Floodplain Initiative, or CP23a, provides farmers financial incentives to restore and buffer playa lakes, which host hundreds species of waterfowl, cranes, shorebirds, songbirds and other birds throughout the year.
Signup for the program is on a continuous basis starting October 1, 2004 through December 31, 2007. Although signup is continuous, many resource managers estimate that given the regional resource need, playa lakes states will be fully enrolled within the first year.
"We are urging producers with playas to contact their local Farm Service Agency as soon as possible if they are interested in enrolling," said Barth Crouch, Regional Biologist for Pheasants Forever and PLJV Vice Chairman.
Of the 250,000 acres set aside nationally for the initiative, 56,600 have been allocated to playa lakes states. Acreage allotments for states within this region are: Colorado-1,600, Kansas-11,000, Nebraska-14,000, New Mexico-3,500, Oklahoma-1,500, and Texas-25,000. If all acres are enrolled, the initiative could bring more than $35 million to landowners in the region.
Signup also begins October 1 for another new CRP initiative that will help conserve birds in the PLJV region. The Upland Bird Habitat Buffer Initiative, or CP33, aims to create 250,000 acres of nesting and brooding cover to increase numbers of northern bobwhite quail by 750,000 birds annually. The initiative allocates 56,600 acres to playa lakes states (Colorado- 600, Kansas-20,000, Nebraska- 6,000, New Mexico- 500, Oklahoma- 9,500, Texas- 20,000) which host approximately 25 percent of the breeding population of bobwhite quail. The PLJV estimates the initiative will net area landowners $27 million.
Listen to a radio interview with the PLJV about the new CRP initiatives:
Download Part 1 (2M MP3)
Download Part 2 (1M MP3)
Survey of Colorado Playas Underway
More than 300 playas have been surveyed so far as part of a research project spearheaded by the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (RMBO) to assess the wetlands' hydrology, ecology and wildlife habitat values in eastern Colorado. RMBO is using the PLJV's Geographic Information System (GIS) to find probable playas; researchers then authenticate wetland locations and conditions from the field.
Of the 300 playas surveyed, RMBO researchers have found that 20 percent are either pitted or impounded, and found an additional 25 playas that are not indicated on the GIS. This spring and summer, researchers estimated that about 23 percent of the playas were wet due to heavy rainfall. Surveyors are also working with private landowners to study several dozen playas in-depth, looking at soil composition and conducting surveys of playa vegetation and wildlife species. For more information about the study, contact Kelly Hutton of RMBO.
The playa survey project was funded in part through the PLJV's ConocoPhillips grant program in 2003. Applications for the 2004-2005 funding cycle are due November 15.
Upcoming Partner Events::
> Oct. 6: Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams (KAWS) Salt Cedar Control Workshop; Ashland, KS, 9 am; Contact Tim Christian
> Oct. 7: Texas Prairie Rivers Region Landowner Workshop; Canadian, TX; 9 am; Space limited; Contact Remelle Farrar
> Oct. 13: Oklahoma Wildlife and Prairie Heritage Alliance Board Meeting; Woodward, OK, 1 pm; Contact Trapper Heglin
> Oct. 19-20: Association of State Wetland Managers National Symposium; Kansas City, MO; Contact Jon Kusler
> Oct. 26-27: New Mexico Department of Game and Fish All-Bird Workshop; Rio Rancho, NM, 8:30am; Contact Monica Romero
> Oct. 26-27: KAWS Board Meeting and Fall Tour; Garden City, KS; Contact Tim Christian
> Oct. 31: Traveling Playa Exhibit debuts at Collingsworth County Historical Museum; Wellington, TX; Contact Paul Katz
Signup for the program is on a continuous basis starting October 1, 2004 through December 31, 2007. Although signup is continuous, many resource managers estimate that given the regional resource need, playa lakes states will be fully enrolled within the first year.
"We are urging producers with playas to contact their local Farm Service Agency as soon as possible if they are interested in enrolling," said Barth Crouch, Regional Biologist for Pheasants Forever and PLJV Vice Chairman.
Of the 250,000 acres set aside nationally for the initiative, 56,600 have been allocated to playa lakes states. Acreage allotments for states within this region are: Colorado-1,600, Kansas-11,000, Nebraska-14,000, New Mexico-3,500, Oklahoma-1,500, and Texas-25,000. If all acres are enrolled, the initiative could bring more than $35 million to landowners in the region.
Signup also begins October 1 for another new CRP initiative that will help conserve birds in the PLJV region. The Upland Bird Habitat Buffer Initiative, or CP33, aims to create 250,000 acres of nesting and brooding cover to increase numbers of northern bobwhite quail by 750,000 birds annually. The initiative allocates 56,600 acres to playa lakes states (Colorado- 600, Kansas-20,000, Nebraska- 6,000, New Mexico- 500, Oklahoma- 9,500, Texas- 20,000) which host approximately 25 percent of the breeding population of bobwhite quail. The PLJV estimates the initiative will net area landowners $27 million.
Listen to a radio interview with the PLJV about the new CRP initiatives:
Download Part 1 (2M MP3)
Download Part 2 (1M MP3)
Survey of Colorado Playas Underway
More than 300 playas have been surveyed so far as part of a research project spearheaded by the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (RMBO) to assess the wetlands' hydrology, ecology and wildlife habitat values in eastern Colorado. RMBO is using the PLJV's Geographic Information System (GIS) to find probable playas; researchers then authenticate wetland locations and conditions from the field.
Of the 300 playas surveyed, RMBO researchers have found that 20 percent are either pitted or impounded, and found an additional 25 playas that are not indicated on the GIS. This spring and summer, researchers estimated that about 23 percent of the playas were wet due to heavy rainfall. Surveyors are also working with private landowners to study several dozen playas in-depth, looking at soil composition and conducting surveys of playa vegetation and wildlife species. For more information about the study, contact Kelly Hutton of RMBO.
The playa survey project was funded in part through the PLJV's ConocoPhillips grant program in 2003. Applications for the 2004-2005 funding cycle are due November 15.
Upcoming Partner Events::
> Oct. 6: Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams (KAWS) Salt Cedar Control Workshop; Ashland, KS, 9 am; Contact Tim Christian
> Oct. 7: Texas Prairie Rivers Region Landowner Workshop; Canadian, TX; 9 am; Space limited; Contact Remelle Farrar
> Oct. 13: Oklahoma Wildlife and Prairie Heritage Alliance Board Meeting; Woodward, OK, 1 pm; Contact Trapper Heglin
> Oct. 19-20: Association of State Wetland Managers National Symposium; Kansas City, MO; Contact Jon Kusler
> Oct. 26-27: New Mexico Department of Game and Fish All-Bird Workshop; Rio Rancho, NM, 8:30am; Contact Monica Romero
> Oct. 26-27: KAWS Board Meeting and Fall Tour; Garden City, KS; Contact Tim Christian
> Oct. 31: Traveling Playa Exhibit debuts at Collingsworth County Historical Museum; Wellington, TX; Contact Paul Katz