North American Wetland Conservation Act (NAWCA)

Playas, Prairies and Platte River to Be Protected via NAWCA

More than 55,000 acres of playas, prairies and Platte River wetlands will be protected in perpetuity in Colorado and Nebraska thanks to two recently-approved North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) proposals developed by PLJV partners. The projects will help ensure common birds such as Mallards and Sandhill Cranes continue to thrive in the region, and species at risk such as Northern Pintails and Mountain Plovers get the additional support they need.

The Steel’s Fork Playas and Prairie project in Colorado was spearheaded by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) which worked with the Colorado State Land Board to purchase and create a 49,000-acre ranching and wildlife preserve. The Steel’s Fork Ranch features native range in pristine condition and more than 200 playas. The ranch is now being managed by the Round River Resource Management (RRM), a group of Colorado ranchers who are award-winning land stewards who will continue to operate the ranch according to a wildlife management plan drafted by project partners.

Partners involved in this project in addition to TNC and the State Land Board include: Colorado Open Lands, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Smith family who donated the easement on the land, among others. The project was awarded a $828K NAWCA grant, which was matched with $1.6M by partners and another $8.3M in non-matching partner support. The new ranch manager, Louis Martin of RMM, was recently interviewed on Playa Country radio about his new ‘dream job’ managing the property.

The Platte River Wetlands Partnership spearheaded by Ducks Unlimited (DU) was also successful in its NAWCA bid. The Partnership was awarded $1M a NAWCA grant, which was matched with $2.4M by partners and another $1M in non-matching support to protect nearly 6,000 acres of wetlands, riparian areas and uplands along the Platte River in Colorado and Nebraska.

When completed, the project will provide 10% of the waterfowl population goal for Bird Conservation Region 18 portions of Colorado and Nebraska, according to PLJV planning. Partners involved in this project in addition to DU include: Colorado Open Lands, Colorado Division of Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Nebraska Environmental Trust, Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and a host of other partners including several landowners who contributed more than $800K to the project.

In addition to these two Standard NAWCAs, PLJV partners were recently awarded four Small NAWCA grants in Texas, Colorado and New Mexico. Projects awarded funding include: Playa Management and Restoration in the Texas High Plains ($55K) submitted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; Kiowa Creek Natural Area ($5K) submitted by the Kiowa County Economic Development Foundation; Playa Protection in Curry and Quay Counties ($75K) submitted by The Nature Conservancy of New Mexico; and Jenna Welch Playa Preserve Project ($75K) submitted by the I-20 Wildlife Preserve and Jenna Welch Nature Study Center (Texas). All projects combined will acquire, enhance and restore more than 1,000 acres of wetlands and adjacent uplands.

The PLJV congratulates its partners on yet another successful NAWCA cycle.

~April 2008

Opportunity Knocks with NAWCA Small Grants

PLJV partners are discovering one of the easiest sources of wetland conservation funding - the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) Small Grants program. The deadline to submit proposals is around the corner. If you are working on a project, it may not be too late submit it and the PLJV can help.

NAWCA Small Grants can help fund small-scale wetlands projects anywhere within the PLJV boundaries. Principal conservation actions supported by the program are: acquisition, establishment, enhancement and restoration of wetlands, streams or wetland-associated uplands, as well as long term leases of these habitats. Up to $75,000 in matching funds is available per project and the deadline to submit proposals is November 30.

“Often partners are unsure of what makes a good proposal,” said PLJV Conservation Delivery Leader Christopher Rustay. “Generally, if a project has good wetland conservation value, brings partners together, and contributes to conservation plans, the project will rank well. The PLJV can help direct applicants to planning efforts and help determine the value of the project to birds in the area.”

NAWCA Small Grants have been used to fund all kinds of wetland conservation practices in the PLJV region, from straight-out acquisition like the Shaffer Playa project in Oklahoma, to invasive species removal like in the Huerfano Lake restoration project in Colorado.

The national proposal-review committee relies on Joint Ventures to rank and evaluate proposals, so it is essential that applicants work with the PLJV to put proposals together. The PLJV has developed a NAWCA Small Grant Checklist to help applicants stay on top of proposal requirements. For more information contact Christopher Rustay.

You can hear more from Christopher about NAWCA Small Grants on Playa Country radio.

~October 2007

Approved NAWCA Projects to Protect 12,000 Acres in KS, OK, NE and WY

The Migratory Bird Conservation Commission recently awarded $2.17 million in North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) funds for three projects within the PLJV region during its Sept. 12 meeting in Washington, D.C. The combined projects will protect and restore nearly 12,000 wetland and upland acres in critical bird migration areas in north-central Kansas, central Oklahoma, western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming.

The Oklahoma Dept of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) and Ducks Unlimited (DU) are leading partners in a four-phase, multi-million dollar project to restore Drummond Flats, a 7,000-acre historic wetland in the heart of the Central Flyway. When completed, this project will make significant contributions to bird population goals of the PLJV Area Implementation Plan for Bird Conservation Region 19 of Oklahoma. Benefits include providing about 4 million duck-use-days (DUDs), which represents 7% of the DUD objective for fall and 4.4% for spring, plus 39% of the recommended 7,770 new acres of waterfowl foraging habitat, 97% of the shorebird foraging objective and the complete crane foraging objective.

Phase I of the project, for which this NAWCA grant is helping to fund, involves the acquisition and protection of 3,000 acres of wetlands and uplands. More than a dozen partners are involved, including ODWC, DU, ConocoPhillips, Oklahoma Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Groendyke Transport and the National Wild Turkey Federation, plus several local conservation groups, utilities, municipalities and private landowners. In all, 17 partners are contributing $1,407,482 for phase I which was matched by an additional $700,000 from NAWCA.

In Kansas, $468,000 in NAWCA funding was awarded for phase II of the Jamestown Wildlife Area restoration project. This project is being led by the Kansas Dept of Wildlife and Parks and Ducks Unlimited, and involves The Nature Conservancy, Pheasants Forever and several other conservation groups, municipalities and companies. Partners’ combined contributions for this phase total $940,682. For phase II, partners will continue wetland restoration and acquisition work underway on two large marshes totaling 1,130 acres. Once all phases of the project are completed, a total of 7,000 acres will have been restored and/or acquired. This area contains migration and wintering habitat for four high priority waterfowl species and more than 20 other high priority wetland-associated birds.

Along the North Platte River watershed, Ducks Unlimited is leading a project to restore and place conservation easements on 7,800 acres of wetlands and uplands in western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming. The project includes permanent protection for 61 playas through a conservation easement on a private ranch. Partners involved in this project include the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Platte River Basin Environments, the Mid-Nebraska Community Foundation and more than $2 million in donated easements from private landowners. In all, 12 partners are contributing $2,326,747 and the project was awarded $1 million in matching funds from NAWCA. Over 225 species of migratory birds will benefit from this project, including four federally-listed species.

The PLJV congratulates its partners on putting together these successful projects, and encourages others to work with PLJV staff on future projects. Partners considering or developing NAWCA proposals should notify the PLJV well in advance (a year or more is ideal) of submitting. PLJV can provide critical biological planning data and NAWCA proposal-writing expertise that will make proposals more competitive. Read the PLJV’s Standard NAWCA Timeline for an idea of what is involved in the proposal-writing process, and when and how to interface with the PLJV.

~October 2007

NAWCA Staff Tour Projects and Playas in OK, KS and CO

North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) Council staff got a first hand look at two proposed NAWCA projects and gained insight on playas' values to migratory birds during a whirlwind three-state tour hosted by PLJV partners May 28 - June 1.

"This trip helped us get a feel for the PLJV region, its resources, projects and partners," said Karen Kreil of the North Dakota Natural Resources Trust and NAWCA Council staff member. "We saw a wide diversity of playas and they are all important."

Other Council staff members on the tour were Mike Rabe of the Arizona Game and Fish Department and David Mehlman of The Nature Conservancy, as well Guy Foulks - the new National JV Program Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The tour started in Oklahoma with a visit to Drummond Flat, a 7,000-acre historic wetland in Garfield County which over the years has been modified for farming and grazing use. The first phase of the project, which was submitted for a NAWCA grant in March, involves acquiring and restoring hydrology to 3,000 acres of the wetland.

Drummond Flat is located in north-central Oklahoma in the heart of the Central Flyway and near other major wetland areas such as Hackberry Flat, and is of major importance to migratory birds and waterfowl. Main project partners are Ducks Unlimited (DU), Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), ConocoPhillips, and many others. Representatives from the ODWC and DU led the tour, which also included a visit to the Shaffer Playa small NAWCA project and other playas in the eastern edge of the Oklahoma Panhandle.

From Oklahoma, the group was flown by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) to Dodge City, Kansas, which served as base camp for an all-day exploration of playas in Ford and Meade Counties led by representatives from the KDWP, NRCS and Pheasants Forever.

First stop was Heron Playa, which was part of 1993 NAWCA project. The playa is owned by KDWP which continues to work with local landowners to acquire entire basin. On the day of the tour, the playa was full of water and birds, including Northern Pintails, American Avocets, White-rumped Sandpipers, Black Terns, American Coots, Redheads and a Black-crowned Night-Heron.

After Heron, the group got a sneak preview of a potential NAWCA project in Meade County which involves restoring hydrology within a 12,000-acre watershed that drains into a 1,400-acre playa basin. The basin provides important migratory bird habitat, and is stopover distance from Cheyenne Bottoms and Quivira Wildlife Refuge in central Kansas. Two years ago when those well-known wetland sties were dry, the playa provided refuge for more than 100,000 Sandhill Cranes.

NRCS has been working with about half a dozen local landowners over the past 10 years to conserve the area, and a NAWCA grant could significantly help the agency and its partners seal more deals.

The day wrapped up with an aerial tour of southwest Kansas playas onboard two single-engine Cessnas at sunset when the playa and prairie landscape was in its full glory.

The next day the group flew to Limon, Colorado, where they were met by representatives from The Nature Conservancy of Colorado who shuttled the crew to Steel's Fork Ranch - a multi-playa and prairie project site under consideration for NAWCA funding. At the ranch, the group was met by a cadre of project partners, including representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Colorado Land Board and Colorado Natural Heritage Program.

Steel's Fork involves permanently protecting 22,000 acres of native prairie and 1,300 acres of wetlands on a 49,000-acre ranch operating under a wildlife-friendly management plan. The entire property has a total of 1,900 acres of streams, marshes, reservoirs, playas and other wetlands, including the headwaters of Horse Creek and Steel's Fork, two groundwater-fed streams and 214 playas - the most number of playas ever protected by a single project in the JV's history.

The PLJV sincerely thanks Council staff members for taking the time to tour JV projects and learn more about playas, and the many JV partners who helped make this tour memorable and enjoyable.

~June 2007

All Three PLJV Small NAWCA Proposals Approved for Funding

The North American Wetlands Conservation Council recently approved $168,000 in funding for all three North American Wetlands Conservation Act Small Grant proposals submitted by PLJV partners in 2006. The combined projects will conserve more than 1,500 acres of wetlands and grasslands and benefit dozens of priority bird species in Oklahoma and Colorado.

Projects include Shaffer Playa, Oklahoma, which involves acquisition and restoration of a 140-acre playa and associated buffer near the Panhandle town of Gate. Major partners include the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, High Plains RC&D, Oklahoma Wildlife and Prairie Heritage Alliance, Seaboard Farms and the local landowner.

Two projects were approved in Colorado. The Lower South Platte River Wetland Initiative will restore 1,060 acres of shallow seasonal wetlands, associated uplands and salt grass meadows along the river. Major partners include the Lower South Platte Water Conservancy District, Ducks Unlimited, South Platte Focus Area Committee, USFWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife and private landowners. In southeast Colorado, the Huerfano Lake Conservation and Restoration Project is focused on enhancing a 400-acre saline lake and surrounding uplands in Pueblo County. Major partners include the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Prairie and Wetland Focus Area Committee, USFWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program and the private landowner.

The PLJV congratulates project leaders on these successful proposals!

~April 2007