The Kansas Farm Service Agency (FSA) launched the new Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) for playa lakes during a roll-out event October 26 in Dodge City featuring several national and state agriculture and wildlife officials and a landowner who signed up for the program on the spot.
Brothers Earl and Dennis Simon are landowner and farm operator, respectively, of a 22-acre playa near Dodge City. The two were featured guests at the roll-out event where landowner Earl Simon enrolled his playa and adjacent 60-acre buffer into the CRP Wetlands Restoration Non Floodplain Initiative (CP23a).
The signing of the contract took place alongside his playa in the presence of Kansas FSA Executive Director Bill Fuller, U.S. FSA Assistant Deputy Administrator of Farm Programs Steve Connely, Kansas Dept. of Wildlife and Parks Director of Fisheries and Wildlife Joe Kramer, PLJV Coordinator Mike Carter, Agriculture Assistant to U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts - Mel Thompson, and Legislative Assistant to U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran - Trevor McKeeman, as well as dozens of individuals from conservation groups and agencies such as Pheasants Forever, Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams (KAWS), Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Kansas Wildlife and Parks Commission.
"This is a great program for landowners, playas, water quality, wildlife and recreation," said Fuller, who encouraged partners to help the FSA sign up more landowners.
As if on cue as the papers were signed, a flock of Canada Geese flew overhead, joining a gathering of hundreds of Sandhill Cranes, American Avocets, Northern Pintails, Mallards, Redheads and Lesser Yellowlegs which were also paying a visit to the playa that day.
"What we are doing today to protect this playa is great for birds and works for the landowner," said Carter.
In the days following the event, KAWS hosted three CP23a workshops for landowners Oct. 28 and 29 in Lakin, Scott City and Colby, Kansas. The workshops were funded in part by the PLJV in an effort to boost landowner enrollment in the program to 11,000 acres - the maximum allotted to the state out of the 250,000 acres designated nationally.
The CP23a initiative has only been available to landowners as of Oct. 1. Since then, Texas already has 430 acres enrolled in the program within just two counties and Oklahoma FSA is currently reviewing an application for a 127-acre playa in Harper County. Results from other states were not available at press time.
ASWM Conference Attendees Tackle "Isolated" Wetlands
More than 200 wetland and bird conservation professionals converged at the Association of State Wetland Managers national symposium, "Wetlands and Migratory Birds: Protecting and Restoring Wetlands of International Significance," Oct. 18-20 in Kansas City, Missouri, in an effort to bridge the gap between the two conservation arenas, and also tackle the gap created by recent interpretations of the Clean Water Act that affect so-called isolated wetlands and dependent bird species.
The ramifications of the SWANCC decision on seasonal, non-navigable wetlands such as playa lakes, prairie potholes and rainwater basins were hot topics during the conference, which featured presentations and discussions on how states are protecting such wetlands through partnerships and other voluntary, non-regulatory means. The conference also brought together leading conservation professionals from around the globe to share information and form strategies to benefit both birds and wetlands. Conference participants included representatives from: the Environmental Protection Agency, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Audubon Society, Ducks Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy, Rainwater Basin and Playa Lakes Joint Ventures, and state wildlife agencies, among others.
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New Mexico Joins the All-bird Conservation Flock
Participants learned about the four national bird conservation plans, the state's planning efforts, how Joint Ventures work, examples of funding opportunities such as the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, and models of successful habitat-conservation partnerships. As the workshop progressed, participants brought forward recommendations and needs for future bird conservation work in the state, such as a dedicated all-bird coordinating position, more data dissemination, increased education and communication between groups and agencies, and closing gaps in species and habitat information. For more information about the workshop, contact NMDGF Assistant Chief Chuck Hayes.
Biologists Have High Hopes for Whooping Cranes This Year
Wildlife biologists are watching the skies above the playa lakes region, wondering if this will be the year when Whooping Crane populations finally pass the 200-bird mark. The one self-sustaining wild flock left their nesting grounds in northwest Canada in September with a record 41 chicks. If mortality is low on the 2,400-mile migration route from Canada to the Texas coast, the flock may set a new population record since counts began in 1938 for the endangered species that once only numbered 21 birds in the world.
Over the next few weeks, the birds will fly over, rest and feed on wetlands and agricultural land within the PLJV region, namely in western Nebraska, Oklahoma and the Texas high and rolling plains. Biologists are urging bird watchers, sportsmen and others roaming the great outdoors to keep an eye out for these graceful birds and report any sightings to their state wildlife agency. Whooping Cranes are the tallest birds in North America, standing at more than four feet. They are solid white except for black wing-tips that are visible only in flight. They fly with necks and legs outstretched.
The Oklahoma Dept. of Wildlife Conservation reports that the most reliable places to see the cranes in their state is at the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge, which is designated critical Whooping Crane habitat, and Hackberry Flat Wildlife Management Area in Tillman County. Contact your state wildlife agency to find best spotting sites in your area.
Happenings Around the PLJV:
> Nov. 4 - 6: Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education annual conference and playa workshop; Dodge City, KS; Contact Beth Carreno
> Nov. 10: Wonders of Wetlands workshop featuring playa lakes; Rio Grande Nature Center, Albuquerque, NM; 9am - 4pm; Contact Suzie Hershberger
> Nov. 14: Playa Lakes Chautauqua; Nazareth, TX; Contact Darryl Birkenfeld
> Nov. 15: PLJV/ConocoPhillips grant deadline. Click here for details.
> Nov. 19: Deadline for Ducks Unlimited Institute for Wetland and Waterfowl Research's Bonnycastle and Futch Fellowships; Contact Dr. Michael G. Anderson
> Dec. 3: NAWCA Small Grant deadline. Click here for details.
> Dec. 7 - 9: High Plains Groundwater Resources Conference; Lubbock Memorial Civic Center, Lubbock, TX; Contact Dr. Ted Zobeck