Local Work Groups Team up to Protect Playas in Eastern New Mexico
Three eastern New Mexico Local Work Groups (LWG) are banding together to create a new program to protect playas through the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) of the Farm Bill. LWGs are committees made up of federal, state and county wildlife, agricultural and other land-use agency representatives that set local direction for the EQIP. Over the past few months, members of the Portales, Clovis and Lovington LWGs have developed a program that targets playa lakes in rangeland, and recently submitted it for review to the state's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
If approved, the program would provide incentive payments to landowners to defer grazing on playa lakes. Specifically, the program would pay landowners $100 per acre of playa basin and 150-foot buffer, and an additional $7.50 per acre for adjacent land (total project area cannot exceed 350 acres) for three years. Preference would be given to playas that host at-risk wildlife species, are in native grass and in close proximity to other playas.
The three LWGs, which cover parts or all of Roosevelt, Curry, Lea and Chavez Counties, have proposed allocating 2.5 percent of their total EQIP allocation to the program, or approximately $80,000 to $100,000 for 2005. Signup for the program would be continuous until Jan. 28, 2005.
NRCS is set to review the proposal in the next few weeks, and LWG representatives are hoping for a positive response. One LWG member who was instrumental in getting the proposal together is Tish McDaniel, a PLJV partner and longtime playa and private landowner advocate.
States Conducting Landowner Focus Groups on Playas
Landowners are sharing their likes, dislikes, knowledge and lack thereof about playa lakes at focus group meetings being held across the PLJV region this fall. State wildlife agencies and local conservation partnerships, in conjunction with professional facilitators from Texas Prairie Rivers Region, Inc., are hosting one focus group in each PLJV member state. The primary purpose of the focus groups is to gather landowner opinions and perceptions about playa lakes and assess their willingness to participate in playa conservation programs. Results from these focus groups will help states in developing conservation plans and programs for the playa lakes portion of their state.
Last month, Oklahoma hosted a landowner focus group in Cimarron County November 18 and Texas hosted one November 22 in Foard County. Landowner perceptions varied widely among the two states. Initial results indicate that participating landowners in Cimarron County generally knew what playas were, but where unaware of the wetlands' ecological functions. In Texas, participating landowners had significant knowledge about playas, and were interested in diversifying operations to benefit playas and wildlife. However landowners from both states had little knowledge about playa protection programs and saw a need for better promotion of such opportunities.
Other PLJV states are currently organizing additional focus groups. Kansas will hold one December 16, and Nebraska's is set for December 17. Dates for the Colorado and New Mexico meetings have not yet been determined. Funding for the state landowner focus groups was provided by the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.
Happenings Around the PLJV
> Dec. 14 - Jan. 5th: Christmas Bird Count; Visit the Audubon Society web site for more information.
> Dec. 15: Prairie and Wetland Focus Area Committee CP23a Workshop; Limon, CO; Contact Tammy VerCauteren.
> January: Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams CP23a Workshops; Contact Tim Christian for dates and locations.
> Jan. 19 - 20: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Joint Venture Science Summit; Contact Carol Lively for more information.
> Feb. 2: World Wetlands Day
> Feb. 8: Rainwater Basin Joint Venture Informational Seminar; Hastings, NE; Contact Steve Moran.
> Feb. 22-24: Playa Lakes Joint Venture Management Board Meeting; Amarillo, TX; Contact Mike Carter.
> New Resource: North American Waterfowl Management Plan 2004 Update available for download. (2M PDF)
Three eastern New Mexico Local Work Groups (LWG) are banding together to create a new program to protect playas through the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) of the Farm Bill. LWGs are committees made up of federal, state and county wildlife, agricultural and other land-use agency representatives that set local direction for the EQIP. Over the past few months, members of the Portales, Clovis and Lovington LWGs have developed a program that targets playa lakes in rangeland, and recently submitted it for review to the state's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
If approved, the program would provide incentive payments to landowners to defer grazing on playa lakes. Specifically, the program would pay landowners $100 per acre of playa basin and 150-foot buffer, and an additional $7.50 per acre for adjacent land (total project area cannot exceed 350 acres) for three years. Preference would be given to playas that host at-risk wildlife species, are in native grass and in close proximity to other playas.
The three LWGs, which cover parts or all of Roosevelt, Curry, Lea and Chavez Counties, have proposed allocating 2.5 percent of their total EQIP allocation to the program, or approximately $80,000 to $100,000 for 2005. Signup for the program would be continuous until Jan. 28, 2005.
NRCS is set to review the proposal in the next few weeks, and LWG representatives are hoping for a positive response. One LWG member who was instrumental in getting the proposal together is Tish McDaniel, a PLJV partner and longtime playa and private landowner advocate.
States Conducting Landowner Focus Groups on Playas
Landowners are sharing their likes, dislikes, knowledge and lack thereof about playa lakes at focus group meetings being held across the PLJV region this fall. State wildlife agencies and local conservation partnerships, in conjunction with professional facilitators from Texas Prairie Rivers Region, Inc., are hosting one focus group in each PLJV member state. The primary purpose of the focus groups is to gather landowner opinions and perceptions about playa lakes and assess their willingness to participate in playa conservation programs. Results from these focus groups will help states in developing conservation plans and programs for the playa lakes portion of their state.
Last month, Oklahoma hosted a landowner focus group in Cimarron County November 18 and Texas hosted one November 22 in Foard County. Landowner perceptions varied widely among the two states. Initial results indicate that participating landowners in Cimarron County generally knew what playas were, but where unaware of the wetlands' ecological functions. In Texas, participating landowners had significant knowledge about playas, and were interested in diversifying operations to benefit playas and wildlife. However landowners from both states had little knowledge about playa protection programs and saw a need for better promotion of such opportunities.
Other PLJV states are currently organizing additional focus groups. Kansas will hold one December 16, and Nebraska's is set for December 17. Dates for the Colorado and New Mexico meetings have not yet been determined. Funding for the state landowner focus groups was provided by the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.
Happenings Around the PLJV
> Dec. 14 - Jan. 5th: Christmas Bird Count; Visit the Audubon Society web site for more information.
> Dec. 15: Prairie and Wetland Focus Area Committee CP23a Workshop; Limon, CO; Contact Tammy VerCauteren.
> January: Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams CP23a Workshops; Contact Tim Christian for dates and locations.
> Jan. 19 - 20: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Joint Venture Science Summit; Contact Carol Lively for more information.
> Feb. 2: World Wetlands Day
> Feb. 8: Rainwater Basin Joint Venture Informational Seminar; Hastings, NE; Contact Steve Moran.
> Feb. 22-24: Playa Lakes Joint Venture Management Board Meeting; Amarillo, TX; Contact Mike Carter.
> New Resource: North American Waterfowl Management Plan 2004 Update available for download. (2M PDF)
PLJV-NAWCA Sites Among Top 25 Waterfowling Spots in U.S.
Hackberry Flat and Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) in southwest Oklahoma and central Kansas, respectively, were recognized as two of the top 25 waterfowling hotspots in the country by Field & Stream magazine. Featured in the magazine's November issue, Cheyenne Bottoms ranked No. 12 and Hackberry Flat No. 13 in the article, "Great American Duck Hunts." Both WMAs were restored to their current waterfowling glory with the help of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant program. The WMAs offer some of the best wildlife viewing and waterfowl hunting in the entire PLJV region.
At 41,000 acres, Cheyenne Bottoms is the largest marsh in the interior of the U.S. and is considered one of the most important shorebird migration points in the western hemisphere, and also hosts more than a dozen species of waterfowl. In the early 1990s, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, along with Ducks Unlimited, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy and other partners, spearheaded a restoration project to manage water for wildlife within portions of Cheyenne Bottoms, and were awarded $5.5 million in NAWCA funding over three years for the project.
Hackberry Flat is located near Frederick, Oklahoma, and encompasses more than 7,000 acres of prime migratory bird habitat. The area hosts 30 species of shorebirds in the spring, as well as puddle and diving ducks, Sandhill Cranes, Least Terns, Snowy Plovers and dozens of grassland and raptor species. In the mid 1990s, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ConocoPhillips, Ducks Unlimited, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and other partners garnered $2.5 million in NAWCA grants over three years to restore the wetland for wildlife use.
Kansas Educators Shore up on Playa Lakes
Dozens of educators and students traveled from as far east as Topeka to learn about western Kansas playas during the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education (KACEE) annual conference November 4-6 in Dodge City. A special pre-conference session on playas was held November 4 for about 25 educators, who learned about playas through presentations, field trips and hands-on activities. Speakers included Tom Flowers, District Conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service office, who presented information about a bird survey on Kansas playas which identified more than 140 species, and Debbie Slobe from the PLJV who talked about playas' link to aquifer recharge.
At 41,000 acres, Cheyenne Bottoms is the largest marsh in the interior of the U.S. and is considered one of the most important shorebird migration points in the western hemisphere, and also hosts more than a dozen species of waterfowl. In the early 1990s, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, along with Ducks Unlimited, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy and other partners, spearheaded a restoration project to manage water for wildlife within portions of Cheyenne Bottoms, and were awarded $5.5 million in NAWCA funding over three years for the project.
Hackberry Flat is located near Frederick, Oklahoma, and encompasses more than 7,000 acres of prime migratory bird habitat. The area hosts 30 species of shorebirds in the spring, as well as puddle and diving ducks, Sandhill Cranes, Least Terns, Snowy Plovers and dozens of grassland and raptor species. In the mid 1990s, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ConocoPhillips, Ducks Unlimited, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and other partners garnered $2.5 million in NAWCA grants over three years to restore the wetland for wildlife use.
Kansas Educators Shore up on Playa Lakes
Dozens of educators and students traveled from as far east as Topeka to learn about western Kansas playas during the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education (KACEE) annual conference November 4-6 in Dodge City. A special pre-conference session on playas was held November 4 for about 25 educators, who learned about playas through presentations, field trips and hands-on activities. Speakers included Tom Flowers, District Conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service office, who presented information about a bird survey on Kansas playas which identified more than 140 species, and Debbie Slobe from the PLJV who talked about playas' link to aquifer recharge.
The later half of the day was spent out in the field at Herron and Wild Turkey Playas where participants learned about the history and ecology of Herron Playa from Scotty Baugh, regional biologist for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. Students from Jackson Heights High School north of Topeka and their science teacher Gary Keehn led the group on a wild goose chase at Wild Turkey Playa, seeking out hidden treasures with GPS devices and peeking into the murky world of invertebrates with an underwater camera. The pre-conference workshop was just a taste of what's to come. June 8-9, KACEE will host a multi-state facilitator workshop on playa lakes to train teachers across the PLJV region to host similar workshops in their home states. For more information, contact Beth Carreno at KACEE.
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.