Playa Post Archive 2009
- Policy Update: Expiring CRP Mailing Has Positive Response in Kansas
- Mapping News: Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Offers Tool to Protect Critical Lesser Prairie-Chicken Habitat
- Policy News: Some Conservation Reserve Program Contracts Up in September Offered Extensions
- Science Update: Comprehensive Texas Drought Information Web Site Launched
- Conservation Update: More Than $23 Million in Federal Grants and Matching Funds going to Conservation of Neotropical Migratory Birds and Habitat
- Program News: Sign Up For Grassland Reserve Program
- State Legislative and Nebraska Environmental Trust Have a Field Day
- Policy News: Kansas Lawmaker Conducts Annual ‘Conservation Tour’
- Policy Update: New Field Guide to Farm Bill Available
- Science News: National Wildlife Organizations Convene Conference to Address Climate Change
- Mapping News: Center for Geospatial Technology at Texas Tech University to Launch Website of Ogallala Aquifer Maps and Data
- Science Update: WILDLIFE—90 Years of Bird-Watching Notes Becoming Available to PLJV
- Outreach Update: EnCana and Colorado DOW Produce Wildlife Video
- Policy News: Senate Bill Introduced to Conserve Rapidly Disappearing Migratory Birds
Vol. 7, Issue 2: April Fool's 2009
- Group Petitioning Congress to Rename Lesser Prairie-Chicken the Less is More Prairie-Chicken
- Texas Man Pledges to Donate His "8 Glasses of Water a Day" to Playa Conservation Efforts
- China Starts Drilling to Drain Ogallala From the Bottom
- PLJV Coordinator Asks Webster to Remove "Bird-Brained" From Dictionary
- Conservation Capacity: Secretary Salazar Releases Study Showing Widespread Declines in Bird Populations, Highlights Role of Partnerships in Conservation
- Policy News: ASWM Stimulus Bill Implementation Web Page Includes Wetlands
- Science Update: On the Move—Birds and Climate Change
- Science News: Threats to the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Grow
- Program News: American Wind Wildlife Institute
- Policy Update: Appropriations Bill Helps Ogallala Aquifer
- Program News: Having a Field Day—Western Kansas Wetlands
- Conservation Capacity: Contagious Conservation Equals Contiguous Conservation—A Q & A with Seth Gallagher, Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory
- Science Update: Not Easy Being Green—A Report on Wind Energy’s Implications on the Lesser-Prairie Chicken Population
- Policy News: PLJV Signs Agreement With Farm Services Agency
- Mapping Programs: How CRP Expirations Will Open Up County Caps
Top Stories
June 2009:
Policy Update: Expiring CRP Mailing Has Positive Response in Kansas
Several months ago the Playa Lakes Joint Venture, in partnership with the Kansas Farm Service Agency (FSA) and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), mailed letters to 2,314 expiring CRP contract holders in 32 counties in western Kansas. The letter, and attached documents (see attached) explained there were several Continuous CRP Practices available to help them buffer playas, field borders, and waterways in their acreage by leaving the native grasses and forbs planted and intact, as they decided how to utilize their fields into the future. It also explained wildlife-friendly Continuous CRP Practices that would help them keep less suitable portions of their fields in the native grasses and forbs they had originally established under CRP. Simultaneously, training in how to apply these Continuous CRP Practices was conducted for all local FSA offices and NRCS personnel involved in managing the CRP contracts for the contract holders.
A response card was also enclosed in the mailing. USDA kept track of the number of contacts generated by the mailing and found that 125 response contacts were made, for a 5.4 percent response rate. Barth Crouch, Conservation Policy Director for PLJV said, “That may seem small until you consider that the average response rate for all those direct mail offers you get every week in your mailbox is less than one percent. We’re excited we got such a good response from Kansas landowners that care about their wetlands and wildlife.”
A wetland coordinator, hired jointly by the Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams and NRCS, is also directly contacting all of the expiring contract holders who have playas in their contract acres. Stay tuned to future Playa Post issues for those results.
Mapping News: Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Offers Tool to Protect Critical Lesser Prairie-Chicken Habitat
Like so many of the areas within the Joint Venture boundary, the lesser prairie-chicken population in Oklahoma is being adversely affected by land development and alternative energy expansion. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife (ODWC) Conservation believes it has the answer.
The ODWC has designed a new tool to protect and conserve imperiled lesser prairie-chickens affected by land development in western Oklahoma. The tool, known as the Oklahoma Lesser Prairie-Chicken Spatial Planning Tool, is a habitat-based model that quantifies the value of every acre within lesser prairie-chicken range. The tool should prove invaluable to developers and planners as they search for sites where development would least impact Oklahoma’s dwindling population of lesser prairie-chickens.
The lesser prairie-chicken is identified as a species of greatest conservation need in Oklahoma and is a candidate for federal listing on the endangered list. The sand shinnery and sand sagebrush native rangelands of northwest Oklahoma are crucial to their survival. But the same area also provides some of Oklahoma’s most abundant sources of energy, including wind, oil and natural gas. Efforts to harvest this energy are projected to rapidly intensify over the next few years.
Researchers have routinely found that lesser prairie-chickens avoid vertical structures because, it is theorized, they are often used as perches by avian predators such as hawks and owls. Habitat fragmentation caused by a number of factors, including transmission lines, roads and highways, buildings and tree encroachment into prairie habitats, as well as conversion of native rangeland to cropland or non-native vegetation, are all detrimental to lesser prairie-chicken survival.
The Oklahoma Lesser Prairie-Chicken Spatial Planning Tool was developed in cooperation with the Oklahoma Secretary of Environment, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, OSU Extension, the G.M. Sutton Avian Research Center and the Playa Lakes Joint Venture.
“Tools such as the Oklahoma Lesser Prairie-Chicken Spatial Planning Tool, in conjunction with on-going prairie conservation actions, will be important to strategically conserve the prairie-chicken and it’s habitat and to preclude the need to list the species under the Endangered Species Act, all while still meeting the energy needs of the United States,” said Ken Frazier, assistant field supervisor for the Oklahoma Ecological Services Field Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
In addition to helping determine areas where development would least impact prairie chickens, the Spatial Planning Tool also can be used in assessing the cost of developments within the lesser prairie-chicken’s range, as well as to prioritize areas and costs for prairie chicken habitat restoration and recovery efforts. If it is necessary to site a project or structure in an area that will impact lesser prairie-chickens, the ODWC hopes developers will use the tool to determine a voluntary contribution to offset the impacts of that development.
The Oklahoma Lesser Prairie-Chicken Spatial Planning Tool, available on the ODWC Web site at http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/lepcdevelopmentplanning.htm, is provided in formats compatible with both GIS (.img) and Google Earth (.kmz). Maps, in both 8.5” x 14” and 33” x 44” sizes.
For more information about the lesser prairie-chicken, log on to www.wildlifedepartment.com.
Policy News: Some Conservation Reserve Program Contracts Up in September Offered Extensions
On May 1, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that certain CRP participants with CRP contracts expiring on September 30, 2009, would be offered a chance to extend all or part of their acres for three or five years at their current per acre payment rate.
The PLJV states were well represented by having 57 percent of the acres offered extensions nationally. The following is a PLJV breakdown by state:
Colorado: 334,972 of 719,452 acres expiring
Kansas: 118,416 of 425,120 acres expiring
Nebraska: 54,741 of 151,835 acres expiring
New Mexico: 18,130 of 40,840 acres expiring
Oklahoma: 69,828 of 159,579 acres expiring
Texas: 264,510 of 779,899 acres expiring
Wildlife officials in all PLJV states are waiting to see where the extensions are being offered and to see how many contract holders take advantage of the extension offer. In particular, the locations mean a great deal to the PLJV mission, with concerns over imbedded playas remaining buffered by grasses, as well as whether substantial amounts of CRP acres being used by lesser prairie-chickens will be converted back to cropland.
The Farm Service Agency, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the US Fish & Wildlife Service, and the six state wildlife agencies in the PLJV states remain ready to assist landowners in deciding how to best use those acres that were not offered extensions in order to continue to decrease soil erosion, provide increased water quality, and protect wildlife habitat that their CRP acres have delivered over the life of the contract. Dan Meyerhoff, Area Conservationist for NRCS in western Kansas said, “Buffering those acres with Continuous CRP Practices would definitely help continue the most benefits for soil, water and wildlife.”
Science Update: Comprehensive Texas Drought Information Web Site Launched
The Drought Joint Information Center made up of state and federal agency public information officers from the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Texas Water Development Board, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Texas Forest Service, Texas Animal Health Commission, Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has created a comprehensive Texas drought information Web site.
The Web site is divided into two distinct areas—Resources on Drought provides static and changing information on drought, ranging from stream flow data and weather information to links provided by the participating agencies; and News Updates/Situational Reports features the latest items provided by the participating agencies. The center and its Web site, which operate at the discretion of the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management, provide a central clearing house of drought-related public information and education to help each of the participating agencies perform their designated public service roles.
The center also provides timely and consistent drought-related news, including historic and forecasted National Weather Service rainfall information, water updates from state water authorities, and agricultural drought damage assessment updates as provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Services Agency, state agricultural economists and other recognized experts. All information on the Web site is public information and is available for producers, industry groups, county officials, the media and anyone who needs creditable, consistent Texas drought-related information.
Conservation Update: More Than $23 Million in Federal Grants and Matching Funds going to Conservation of Neotropical Migratory Birds and Habitat
U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced more than $4.8 million in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grants for 36 projects supporting neotropical migratory bird conservation throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Partners will match these funds with more than $18 million, supporting habitat restoration, environmental education, population monitoring, and other priority activities within the ranges of neotropical birds in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico and 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries.
Nearly 350 species of neotropical migratory birds breed in the United States and Canada and winter in Latin America, including plovers, terns, hawks, cranes, warblers and sparrows. The populations of many of these birds are presently in decline, and several species are currently protected as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Success grants from PLJV partners include New Mexico and Texas. The Nature Conservancy will use a $250,000 grant, matched by $752,280, to expand protection of habitat critical to declining grassland bird species of the shortgrass and shinnery oak habitat of New Mexico. In Colorado, Nebraska and Mexico, the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory will use a grant of $244,351 and a partner match of $888,625, to conserve habitat for high-priority and declining grassland bird species in western North America through monitoring, research and protection. RMBO executive director, Tammy VerCauteren, said “we are very excited about the continued support from the USFWS neotropical migratory bird conservation act as it allows us to address critical breeding and wintering conservation issues for grassland birds and allows conservation to transcend international boundaries.”
The Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 2000 established the matching grants program to fund projects promoting the conservation of neotropical migratory birds in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Funds may be used to protect, research, monitor and manage bird populations and habitat, as well as to conduct law enforcement and community outreach and education. By law, at least 75 percent of the money goes to projects in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada, while the remaining 25 percent can go to projects in the United States.
More about the projects listed, plus the 27 projects in Mexico, Central and South America, visit www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/Grants/NMBCA/2009.shtm
Program News: Sign Up For Grassland Reserve Program
Jack Salava, acting state executive director of USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced today that FSA and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) are accepting applications for the 2009 Grasslands Reserve Program (GRP). FSA and NRCS jointly administer the GRP.
GRP is a voluntary program that provides financial and technical assistance to landowners and operators for the restoration and conservation of the nation's grasslands. "Enrollment of land in GRP will have a positive economic impact on the country and improve environmental quality by preventing the conversion of grassland to other uses, including crop production and urban development," said Salava.
FSA and NRCS offices will accept GRP applications on a continuous basis for easements or rental agreements. Applications received by June 24, 2009, will be evaluated for 2009 GRP funding; applications received after this date will be evaluated for future GRP years funding.
According to Salava, the program has several enrollment options: permanent easements and 10, 15, or 20-year rental agreements. Application evaluation for acceptance in the 2009 GRP will be based on ranking criteria that will emphasize grazing operations; protection of grassland, land that contains forbs, and shrub land at the greatest risk from the threat of conversion to uses other than grazing; plant and animal biodiversity; restoration costs; and expiring Conservation Reserve Program contracts.
Eligible landowners who enroll in GRP will receive payment for permanent easements based on the lowest amount of either the fair market value of the property less the grazing value of the land; geographical cap as determined by NRCS; or offer from landowner.
Participants with approved rental agreements will receive annual payments for the rental contract period. GRP enrollment permits common grazing practices, haying, mowing, or harvesting for seed production, subject to certain restrictions. All participants in GRP are required to implement a grazing management plan approved by NRCS.
For additional eligibility criteria and information regarding GRP, contact your local USDA Service Center or visit the USDA Websites at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/fbapp?area=home&subject=landing&topic=landing or http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/farmbill/2008.
State Legislative and Nebraska Environmental Trust Have a Field Day
With sunshine and blue skies, the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture and the Nebraska All-Bird Conservation Partnership could not have asked for a better day for a tour. The PLJV, and its close partners in Nebraska, were honored to have staffers from Senators Johanns’ and Nelson’s offices, several staffers from state senators’ offices, as well as Senator Carlson himself, who was able to attend a portion of the day’s activities. In addition, everyone involved welcomed the entire staff from the Environmental Trust and Board Chair Vince Kramper join the tour.
During the tour, participants discussed public and private projects with an emphasis on the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture’s ability to optimize NET funds to acquire Federal grants that result in completed projects. New opportunities, such as the Trade Lands Initiative, were also discussed. This initiative would have a partner purchase quality cropland to be used as trade to acquire a critical roundout adjacent to public areas. In addition, attendees highlighted the tremendous wildlife and ecosystem benefits that are realized through habitat projects delivered by the RWBJV partnership.
The PLJV personally thanks Ted LaGrange, Randy Stutheit, Doreen Pfost, Laurel Badura, Gene Mack, and Steve Donovan for helping with the tour.
An updated Joint Venture Fact Sheet has been posted on the Division of Bird Habitat Conservation Web site. You can access it via a link on the main JV page (www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/JointVentures/index.shtm or at www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/JointVentures/files/JointVentureFactSheet.pdf
May 2009:
Policy News: Kansas Lawmaker Conducts Annual ‘Conservation Tour’
If you preserve it, they will come; if you conserve it, they will stay.
On April 7 and 8, 1st District Congressman Jerry Moran (R-KS) held his 9th Annual Conservation Tour, which focuses on conservation accomplishments and/or issues facing federal programs in his home state. This year, the tour centered around the activities and goals of the newly formed Kansas Prescribed Fire Council (see link to their activities on the Kansas Grazing Lands Coalition website). The first stop—the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)—and the details of maintenance or management burns on those acres were discussed and examples shown. Safety and site preparation were emphasized, necessary equipment and training, along with proper training, to ensure safe, inexpensive burns to maintain and improve native grasslands and CRP acres.
At the second stop—the Fred Bern Ranch—Fred, Mike Collinge, and Ted Alexander all shared their personal perspectives on burning native grass pastures. For ranchers, prescribed fire is seen as an economic aid to managing their grass and adding more weight gain for their livestock, while keeping down invasive woody plants, such as eastern red cedar, which use excess water and compete with grasses for nutrients. They also all spoke about continuing the tradition of fire to keep the prairie as it has been done for many centuries, starting with the native Americans and then the early ranchers who settled here. Fire has been used all across the PLJV region for centuries to manage native prairies and is a valuable tool to help insure the habitat grassland birds require to thrive.
“PLJV is interested in assisting any state or congressional district in arranging and conducting similar conservation tours to Congressman Moran's tour in their area,” says Barth Crouch, PLJV Conservation Policy Director. For more information, contact Barth Crouch at 785-823-0240 or barth.crouch@pljv.org
Policy Update: New Field Guide to Farm Bill Available
The Farm Bill is one of the most important tools enacted by Congress for restoring, enhancing, and protecting habitat on private lands. As the number of conservation programs has increased since the 1985 Farm Bill, so have the amount of funds authorized to further conservation on private lands. The 2008 farm Bill authorized approximately $23 billion for a five-year period. To help landowners, conservationists, biologists, and others take advantage of conservation programs in the 2008 Farm Bill, the North American Bird Conservation Initiative in partnership with the Intermountain West Joint Venture has published the Field Guide to the 2008 Farm Bill for Fish and Wildlife Conservation. The publication is available in pdf format on the NABCI Web site http://www.nabci-us.org. This site will also be presenting the material as interactive Web pages that will be updated as information changes.
The publication presents an overview of the Farm Bill and its history, as well as important information on organizations, like PLJV, that administer it. Also provided is information on setting priorities, maximizing wildlife benefits, conservation planning, conservation practice standards, performance measurements, and assessments. A resources page provides citations of studies that document the impacts of Farm Bill programs and practices on wildlife. The author, Randall Gray, worked for 31 years for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, where he helped develop, deliver, and evaluate Farm Bill conservation programs. Before retiring, his final position was the National Wildlife Biologist. He is presently the Farm Bill Coordinator for the Intermountain West Joint Venture.
Science News: National Wildlife Organizations Convene Conference to Address Climate Change
The National Council for Science and the Environment, Wildlife Habitat Policy Research Program and the National Wildlife Federation recently convened “Adaptation 2009: Safeguarding Fish, Wildlife and Natural Systems in the Face of Climate Change.”
This innovative conference made an important contribution to advancing the dialogue about how natural resource management and conservation efforts, like those of the PLJV, will need to be transformed to meet the challenges of climate change.
Participants included more than 130 professionals working on management, policy and research related to wildlife and climate change. These leading “thinkers and doers” came from across the U.S., representing a broad diversity of expertise and balanced participation by non-governmental organizations, federal and state agencies, academia, and the private sector.
The conference website is available at http://ncseonline.org/WHPRP/NWF/Adaptation2009/ and includes background information on the conference, available presentations and audio.
Mapping News: Center for Geospatial Technology at Texas Tech University to Launch Website of Ogallala Aquifer Maps and Data
This website is organized into two parts: (1) Ogallala Maps & Data and (2) Texas Maps. The Ogallala Maps & Data section contains aquifer information for 41 Texas counties for a 15-year study period from 1990 to 2004. Included in the Texas Counties subsection are maps and graphs of the water in storage, change in water in storage, the saturated thickness, and the change in saturated thickness for each county. Additionally summary data and graphs by county present the available water in storage and average saturated thickness. The Texas Ogallala Summary subsection presents summary data and maps for the portion of the aquifer that lies within Texas.
The Texas Maps section of the atlas provides an information resource of the land, the people, and the agricultural economy of the region that is served by the Ogallala Aquifer and compares that to the rest of the state. The Texas Maps section is organized into three categories: Agriculture, Demographic Trends and Physical Landscape. Also provided is a description of each map including the source data information. All maps are provided in PDF format.
The goal of this project is to provide scientifically sound data and knowledge to water planners and policymakers to support the decision making that will ultimately affect the longevity of Ogallala Aquifer. The efforts in this project were funded by the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service as part of the Ogallala Aquifer Program.
http://gis.ttu.edu/ogallalaaquifermaps.
Science Update: WILDLIFE—90 Years of Bird-Watching Notes Becoming Available to PLJV
The U.S. Geological Survey plans to post nearly a century of observations from amateur bird-watchers, a resource scientists say could help them understand the impacts of climate change on avian behavior. Observations indicate that climate change is already altering bird migration patterns and population distribution, and scientists hope the century of continuous data will allow them to better track changes.
The collection contains data on roughly 900 bird species, including some—such as the Guadalupe storm-petrel, Labrador duck, Guadalupe caracara, great auk, Carolina parakeet and passenger pigeon—that are now extinct.
Outreach Update: EnCana and Colorado DOW Produce Wildlife Video
EnCana and the Colorado Division of Wildlife have produced a training DVD that gives energy workers information to minimize their impacts to Colorado wildlife and wildlife habitat. Wildlife in Colorado: What You Need to Know is designed to give energy workers a basic overview of the animals they might encounter when working in Colorado's oil and gas fields.
"Many of the energy workers in Colorado come from other places where wildlife may not be as plentiful or as close as what they are going to experience in Colorado," said JT Romatzke, a DOW Area Wildlife Manager and one of the on-screen hosts for the video. "We can't personally go to every employee orientation so the DVD gives us the ability to equip workers with some basic information."
The video includes information about wildlife, including how to care for trash to avoid attracting bears to work areas, why feeding even small animals can be unsafe for people and the animals, what to do if you encounter a mountain lion, and the importance of protecting species like the cutthroat trout and sage grouse. The DVD also explains hunting and fishing opportunities in Colorado and what is required to qualify for resident hunting and fishing licenses.
“This project really speaks to the collaborative approach we strive to maintain with the CDOW. We believe that this video provides an effective way to educate the men and women of industry how to minimize impacts to wildlife and their habitat while working hard to provide clean-burning, domestic energy,” said Byron R. Gale, EnCana, Vice President, Environmental, Health and Safety.
In addition to funding production costs associated with the video, EnCana is making copies available to other natural gas and oil producers and industry contractors throughout the state. To request a copy of the video contact EnCana community relations at (866) 896-6371.
Policy News: Senate Bill Introduced to Conserve Rapidly Disappearing Migratory Birds
Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Water and Wildlife Subcommittee, has introduced bipartisan legislation to boost funding for the conservation of migratory birds. Cosponsors of the bill include Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Bill Nelson (D-FL), and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT).
The Senate bill (SB 690) reauthorizes the existing Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA), but at significantly higher levels, to meet the growing needs of migrants, many of which are in rapid decline. Representative Ron Kind (D-WI) plans to introduce similar legislation in the House of Representatives. The legislation was introduced following the release of U.S. State of the Birds, the most comprehensive assessment to date on the status of bird populations. The report found that over 250 American bird species are in decline or facing severe threats.
Of the 178 continental bird species included on American Bird Conservancy’s “WatchList” of birds of highest conservation concern, over one-third, 71 species, are Neotropical migrants. The populations of an estimated 127 species of migratory birds are in persistent decline, and 60 species have experienced significant population declines greater than 45 percent over the last 40 years. Several species, the Cerulean Warbler and Olive-sided Flycatcher, have declined as much as 70 percent since surveys began in the 1960s.
Saving Migratory Birds for Future Generations: The Success of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act, a 2008 report by American Bird Conservancy, details the disturbing downward trend in the populations of many migratory species and its causes, and documents the effectiveness of NMBCA. American Bird Conservancy and the Bird Conservation Alliance, a broad network of bird clubs, science and conservation organizations, have launched the Act for Songbirds campaign, to support reauthorizing the legislation and boosting funding levels each year. Citizens are being encouraged to contact their Senators in support of the legislation at http://www.abcbirds.org/action.
PLJV ‘Channel’ Debuts on YouTube
In an effort to expand its communications tools and outreach activities, the Playa Lakes Joint Venture has joined YouTube, the online video-sharing phenomenon that encourages people to Broadcast Yourself. The PLJV ‘Channel’ is home to six videos, chapters taken directly from the PLJV film produced in 2006, The Playas: Reflections of Life on the Plains. Plans are also underway to edit together a compressed, 7-minute version of the film.
The new “channel” on YouTube will help PLJV establish a growing online presence and help build name recognition outside of the six-state boundary it currently supports. PLJV also recently established a Facebook page, “Friends of the Playa Lakes Joint Venture,” to facilitate online discussions and share more current birding news.
“We’re excited about using emerging technologies and the Internet to help get the PLJV mission out,” says PLJV Communications Director Michael Soloway. “The Playa Post and Playa Country Radio remain our main forms of communication, but the Internet is proving to be an important and viable medium, especially for nonprofits who don’t have the budgets to devote to costly advertising.”
To watch, rate and/or make comments about the PLJV videos, visit www.youtube.com/user/PlayaLakes
April Fools 2009:
Group Petitioning Congress to Rename Lesser Prairie-Chicken the Less is More Prairie-Chicken
The LIMABEAN (Less is More Association for a Better Earth and Nation) has joined the Lesser Prairie-Chicken cause by sending its best to Washington to help rename the at-risk bird ....
Texas Man Pledges to Donate His "8 Glasses of Water a Day" to Playa Conservation Efforts
A Canadian, Texas man recentlypledged to give up water entirely, drinking only decaffinated coffee and chocolate milk, until playas are saved ...
China Starts Drilling to Drain Ogallala From the Bottom
Despite pleas from the Playa Lakes Joint Venture and Ogallala Commons, the Peoples Republic of China is moving forward with a groundbreaking, yet controversial, plan to tap the Ogallala Aquifer for its growing population ...
PLJV Coordinator Asks Webster to Remove "Bird-Brained" From Dictionary
PLJV Coordinator Mike Carter remembers growing up and hearing classmates use the word bird-brained in every other sentence; it's what led him to become a champion for bird conservation. Today, Carter is using his position with the Playa Lakes Joint Venture to abolish this derogatory term.
Carter has officially asked Webster's Dictionary to remove "bird-brained" from its pages. He says birds are much smarter than people give them credit for. "I believe any words that demean or degrade should be removed from the dictionary," says Carter. "Especially ones that unjustly cause harm to the birds and all the birders out there."
Also in the News:
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Weak Economy Sparks Rise in Use of Carrier Pigeons
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Playa Dot-to-Dot Exhibit Set to Open at Metropolitan Museum of Art
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NASCAR Proposes Making Local Race Tracks in Playas: They Already Have a Bank and Most Have a "Pit"
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Ocean Rise May Keep More Playas Wet, Inland Shrimp Industry Emerging
April 2009:
Conservation Capacity: Secretary Salazar Releases Study Showing Widespread Declines in Bird Populations, Highlights Role of Partnerships in Conservation
On Mar. 19, 2009, the Department of Interior announced the first ever “State of the Birds” report. Secretary Salazar announced that this was a combined effort by several federal agencies and conservation NGO’s, and provided both a sobering assessment of the bird conservation in the United States as well as reasons for hope, if Americans pull together.
Scientists pulled data on bird trends since 1968 and assigned each bird to a general habitat category such as grasslands, forests or wetlands. Birds that were considered obligates of a habitat were also analyzed to indicate how well these habitats were supporting specialized birds. Obligate bird trends were used to give a picture of the overall health of the habitat and the economic benefit that birds were providing to the human occupants of the land.
“Dramatic declines in grassland and aridland birds signal alarming degradation of these often neglected habitats,” the report states. This comes as no surprise to the Playa Lakes Joint Venture. Our current planning http://www.pljv.org/cms/planning-tools suggests that there are many grassland species, which are declining within the PLJV boundaries. Even with a significant habitat restoration increase through CRP, burning or tree-cutting we would not be able to reach a goal determined by the Partners in Flight continental plan, without a significant impact on human use areas. This is especially true for central Kansas and central Oklahoma but examples can be found in most of the Southern High Plains.
The report also notes that 47 percent of all upland game birds are species of conservation concern and that four of the six priority upland game birds in the PLJV region have lost at least one-third of their population in the last 40 years.
There are some hopeful notes sounded in the report. Waterfowl populations, on the whole have rebounded from population lows in the 1970s. Much of the success for waterfowl have come from Joint Ventures which have used the Farm Bill and the North American Wetland Conservation Act grants to restore and protect wetlands and surrounding grasslands which waterfowl use for nesting. The Wild Turkey, whose population was reduced to below 30,000 during the Great Depression, has rebounded to over seven million birds. The Bald Eagle once on the federal endangered species list has increased to the point that it was removed from that list during the middle of this decade.
But why should any of us care about healthy habitats and bird populations? The State of the Birds also answers that question. Birds are excellent environmental indicators. “Changes in bird populations are often the first indication of environmental problems. Whether ecosystems are managed for agricultural production, wildlife, water, or tourism, success can be measured by the health of birds. A decline in bird numbers tells us that we are damaging the environment through habitat fragmentation and destruction, pollution and pesticides, introduced species, and many other impacts.”
Further, birds have an ecological and economic value through rodent and insect control, plant pollination and seed dispersal. It has been estimated that birds reduce eastern forest pests to the tune of $5,000/acre per year. They eat about 98 percent of over-wintering codling moth larvae, benefiting apple farmers worldwide. Finally, as some of our partners are already know, birds can be big business. Bird hunting can be a mainstay for some rural towns and even bird viewing can bring in thousands of dollars annually to communities, which hold bird festivals or other bird viewing opportunities. That’s one of the reasons for the fledgling Lesser Prairie-chicken Festival in Woodward, Oklahoma coming up this April 17 (www.okaudubon.org).
Policy News: ASWM Stimulus Bill Implementation Web Page Includes Wetlands
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Stimulus Bill) includes funding for green infrastructure and wetlands and river restoration. Association of State Wetland Managers has established a new website at http://www.aswm.org/fwp/stimulus/index.htm where they are actively collecting information that can be used to conserve, manage and protect wetlands and other water resources. Currently, the web page includes information about funding available through EPA, Corps, NOAA, FHA and NRCS. For example there is information about the EPA State Revolving Funds and green infrastructure projects. In addition many of the traditional infrastructure projects will increase the permit and permit review workloads for federal agencies.
You are encouraged to forward links to additional information such as requests for proposals, opportunities for employment for wetland and water resource professionals, and other relevant information and we will post it. Please send your recommendations to news@aswm.org
Science Update: On the Move—Birds and Climate Change
Audubon scientists analyzed 40 years of citizen-science Christmas Bird Count data and found nearly 60 percent of the 305 species found in North America in winter are on the move, shifting their ranges northward by an average of 35 miles. Their findings provide new and powerful evidence that global warming is having a serious impact on natural systems. Northward movement was detected among species of every type, including more than 70 percent of highly adaptable forest and feeder birds.
Only grassland species were the exception—with only 38 percent mirroring the northward trend. But far from being good news for species like Eastern Meadowlark and Henslow's Sparrow, this reflects the reality of severely-depleted grassland habitat and suggests that these species now face a double threat from the combined stresses of habitat loss and climate adaptation.
It is the complete picture of widespread movement and the failure of some species to move at all that illustrate the impacts of climate change on birds. These bird species are sending a powerful signal to take policy action to curb climate change and its impacts, and help wildlife and ecosystems adapt to unavoidable habitat changes, even as we work to curb climate change itself.
Science News: Threats to the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Grow
The lesser prairie-chicken has fallen on hard times. A century ago prairie chickens were one of the most common birds on the High Plains. Today, lesser prairie-chicken population is thought to be just three percent of what it was a century ago. Over the past 100 years, the lesser prairie-chicken has suffered population declines that mirror the loss of prairie itself. Since 1900, populations have become increasingly disconnected due to habitat fragmentation. Wind development and transmission line construction threatens to further increase that fragmentation. Currently, the lesser prairie-chicken is a candidate for listing under the Federal Endangered Species Act. To read more about threats to the lesser prairie-chicken and its dwindling habitat, read an interview with PLJV Conservation Policy Director at http://www.salina.com/rdnews/story/prairie-chickens-3-16-2009
Program News: American Wind Wildlife Institute
Twenty of the nation's top science-based conservation and environmental groups and wind energy companies have created a national institute to facilitate timely and responsible development of wind energy while protecting wildlife and wildlife habitat. The institute will accomplish this through research, mapping, mitigation and public education on best practices in wind farm siting and habitat protection. The American Wind Wildlife Institute (AWWI, www.awwi.org) will begin with an operating budget of $3 million for its first two years. To carry out its mission, AWWI will focus on conducting research, promoting sustainable development, funding biodiversity protection and educating the public about the interplay between wildlife and wind turbines.
The seven nonprofit founding organizations of AWWI, which have members in all 50 states, represent more than 4.3 million members nationwide. These founding groups include: Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Environmental Defense Fund, National Audubon Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, The Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club and Union of Concerned Scientists. The remaining 13 founding AWWI members are wind industry businesses, including AES Wind Energy, BP Wind Energy, Babcock & Brown, enXco, Clipper Windpower, E.ON, GE Energy, Horizon Wind Energy, Iberdrola Renewable Energies USA, Nordic Windpower, NRG Systems, Renewable Energy Systems Americas and Vestas Americas.
Policy Update: Appropriations Bill Helps Ogallala Aquifer
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has announced that the Omnibus appropriations bill includes $6.7 million that she secured for important agricultural research at Texas Tech University. The bill includes more than $3.5 million to develop new irrigation techniques to prevent depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer.
Program News: Having a Field Day—Western Kansas Wetlands
Last month, the Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams, Inc. (KAWS), the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP), Playa Lakes Joint Venture (PLJV) and Waconda WRAPS held a playa lakes field day, conducting tours of several playas, while discussing their role in Kansas.
Several guest speakers provided information about playa lakes and why we need these vital wetlands. Bob Tricks, NRCS, Major Land Resource Area Soils Leader talked about the soils and plants in the playas, and answered many important questions ranging from how playas are formed to why playas are considered to be points of aquifer recharge.
Josh Williams, a Wildlife Biologist with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks discussed the wildlife aspects of playas and any wetland restoration opportunities other than WRP and CCRP.
Andy Burr, NRCS District Conservationist, discussed the opportunities available for wetland restoration through Wetlands Reserve Program and Continuous Conservation Reserve Program, while Arthur Gomes, KAWS Wetland Coordinator, was on hand to discuss his role in restoring and protecting wetlands in Kansas and how he might be of assistance to local land owners.
KAWS, organized in 1996, reaches a broad spectrum of individuals, groups, and governments to improve the wetlands and streams they own or control. Over its 12-year span, the organization has helped educate thousands of adults and students about the state’s invaluable wetland and stream resources, their condition, and how to protect and improve them. KAWS provides its services through 12 local chapters that cover the entire state.
For more information about KAWS, or their partners, visit www.KAWS.org and www.KAWS.org/partners.
PLJV Now on Facebook
The Playa Lakes Joint Venture has joined the Internet social networking revolution by establishing a group page on Facebook (www.facebook.com). To date, PLJV has 21 members and counting! A special thank you goes out to new members Grant Beauprez, Lorrie Boyer, Jennie Duberstein, Guy Foulks, Ted LaGrange and Bob McCready. Join today at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=64305291396&ref=mf to post pictures, messages and make new friends.
New IWJV Communication Specialist Hired
Katie Guenzler of Florence, Montana, has joined the Intermountain West Joint Venture as its first Communication Specialist. Guenzler is responsible for developing and implementing a Communication Plan and will carry out a variety of administrative tasks for the Joint Venture in this reconstituted position. Guenzler will be located in the IWJV’s new headquarters office in Missoula, which opens this month.
Guenzler previously worked for an advertising agency in Spokane and earned a bachelor’s degree in Communication and a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of Montana in 2007.
Guenzler is orchestrating the development of a new IWJV website, scheduled for completion in early summer, and will serve as its content manager. “Katie brings a whole new skill set to the IWJV,” says Dave Smith, IWJV Coordinator. “Most of us in this profession are biologists by training, yet achievement of our objectives often hinges on the fragile strand of communication. It’s high time that we welcome more marketing and communication professionals into our circle. Katie’s been a breath of fresh air and has inspired the IWJV Team with her creative abilities.”
March 2009:
Conservation Capacity: Contagious Conservation Equals Contiguous Conservation—A Q & A with Seth Gallagher, Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory
The Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (RMBO) is spreading the conservation word and they hope it’s contagious. Seth Gallagher, RMBO Stewardship Division Director, recently talked to the Playa Post about “Contagious Conservation” and how it can affect future generations.
1. What is Contagious Conservation and how did it originate?
Contagious Conservation was a term we coined after plotting four years of conservation work on the ground in Eastern Colorado on a map. What we noticed were that we had geographic areas with clusters of activities, including landowner workshops and ranch visits, and also habitat enhancement projects. It really makes sense spatially as you look at it, where we spent the most time providing outreach we had the most success implementing habitat enhancement efforts. A large part of the success of the habitat efforts was due to working with one landowner in a given area and then that landowner visiting with neighbors, who then became interested in similar projects, hence “contagious conservation.”
2. Explain Prairie Partners. What is it? Who’s involved? How are workshops organized?
Prairie Partners is a program of the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory’s Stewardship Division and was funded through grants and contracts with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Playa Lakes Joint Venture. The program was designed to work with landowners to increase awareness and find win-win land management projects for bird species and habitats found on private land in eastern Colorado. From 2003-2008 the program hosted six workshops around eastern Colorado annually. During the workshops, resource professionals and landowners were given the opportunity to network and landowners could learn about the various cost-share and incentive programs available for habitat conservation. RMBO staff followed the workshops up with visits to interested landowners, many of which resulted in habitat enhancement projects.
3. What have been the results of Contagious Conservation to this point?
In eastern Colorado the program has reached over 3,000 agricultural producers and yielded over 30,000 acres of conservation actions through habitat enhancement on grasslands, playas and riparian areas.
4. What can landowners and farmers do to help participate?
The first step would be for a landowner to attend a workshop or visit with an NRCS/CDOW/RMBO Private Lands Wildlife Biologist to learn more about what kind of programs are available and what would work with the kind of project they might have in mind. I should emphasize that our program is not just about doing projects. In many cases when visiting a ranch a landowner asks the question, “What can I do better for wildlife?” and often the answer is, “Keep doing what you’ve been doing because the habitat is already outstanding.”
5. Explain the importance of teaching youngsters conservation lessons early.
Well, I can’t speak to the education of youth directly, however much of what is done in agriculture is passed from one generation to the next, so if we (the conservation community) can pass on technical information that is palatable for a landowner to integrate into their operation it has a good chance of being passed to the next generation of land managers. For instance, the implementation of prairie dog management after Burrowing Owls have migrated south for the winter is a management application, which seems to be catching on and one very likely to be passed to future generations, if adopted by a landowner.
6. What are the biggest challenges to promoting land conservation efforts?
The most challenging issue to promoting private land conservation is maintaining and growing the capacity to do so. While we’ve had great success with our program there are still many landowners who have not heard of the program or are aware of the importance of private lands conservation to the shortgrass prairie ecosystem.
7. Is there anything else you'd like to tell us about the Contagious Conservation effort?
Our appreciation for landowners as stewards of the land is paramount. Without their efforts there would be no such thing as “contagious conservation.” Also without funding from the Colorado Division of Wildlife, The National Fish & Wildlife Foundation and the Playa Lakes Joint Venture our work would not be possible.
Seth Gallagher earned an associate’s degree in Wildlife Management from Minot State University-Bottineau, North Dakota (1997) and a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Management from Lincoln Memorial University, Tennessee (2000). He went on to study nesting ecology of Red-shouldered Hawks in northern Michigan at Central Michigan University. Gallagher joined RMBO in February 2004. His duties include managing the NRCS-CDOW Private Lands Wildlife Program, assisting with landowner outreach activities, and designing and implementing on-the-ground ground habitat enhancement projects with partners.
Science Update: Not Easy Being Green—A Report on Wind Energy’s Implications on the Lesser-Prairie Chicken Population
A new report released by the Sutton Avian Research Center at the University of Oklahoma outlines the reality of rapid wind power development and its negative impact on the lesser-prairie chicken population. Compiled after years of research by authors Christian Pruett, Department of Biological Sciences at the Florida Institute of Technology, Michael Patten, University of Oklahoma Department of Zoology and Donald Wolfe, Sutton Avian Research Center, the study tracked 463 lesser-prairie chicken over a seven-year period. The majority of studies have focused on collision risks with wind turbines to migratory species, not avoidance behavior. This new study concluded that lesser-prairie chicken avoid power lines by at least 100 meters and that the construction of wind turbines and new power lines would create a barrier to lesser-prairie chicken movement and avoidance of suitable habitat.
Over the past century, the lesser-prairie chicken has suffered population declines that mirror the loss of prairie itself. Since 1900, populations have become increasingly disconnected due to habitat fragmentation. Wind development threatens to further increase that fragmentation. Today, there is little to no environmental oversight of the placement of wind farms and power transmission lines in relation to wildlife. The report says that wind farm development has more than doubled over the past five years with turbines erected in less than six months and without formal environmental impact assessments. And lesser-prairie chicken are found in states with some of the highest potential for wind energy development?Texas is ranked second in the nation, Kansas is ranked third, Oklahoma eighth, Colorado is eleventh and New Mexico is ranked twelfth. In Oklahoma alone there are approximately 250 wind turbines in lesser-prairie chicken range with at least 1,300 more turbines proposed. Areas considered to have the highest energy potential are ridgelines where wind is strongest. According to the report, these areas represent much of the remaining native southern prairie in these states. Thus, wind farms are being placed in locations that have a high proportion of remaining lesser-prairie chicken habitat.
The lesser-prairie chicken is restricted to short and mixed grass prairies, sand sagebrush and shinnery-oak shrublands of the southern Great Plains of the U.S. Lesser-prairie chicken are among a group of animals that evolved in an ecosystem devoid of trees or other tall features. Furthermore, raptors are predators of lesser-prairie chicken and often perch on tall objects to hunt. Therefore, it is unlikely that lesser-prairie chicken will approach wind turbines even if they have anti-perching devices.
Currently, the lesser-prairie chicken is a candidate for listing under the Federal Endangered Species Act. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has recommended a minimum buffer of five miles for wind farms from prairie grouse species habitat. Other proposed solutions include burying power lines and clustering wind turbines rather than erecting them in long, narrow rows. After all, “As the lesser-prairie chicken goes, so goes what little remains of the southern grassland ecosystem in North America.”
Playa Lakes Joint Venture Plots Wildlife/Wind Energy Safe Sites
The Playa Lakes Joint Venture (PLJV) region encompasses some of the highest rated areas for wind energy development in the nation, including the western two-thirds of Kansas. As of Jan. 2008, approximately 50 wind farms producing in excess of 4,000 megawatts of energy were in operation throughout the six-state PLJV region. Where wind farms are placed may have an impact on birds, so the PLJV has conducted an analysis of key wildlife habitats in the region and produced maps detailing where birds that may be sensitive to wind development may be found.
Wetlands throughout the region also attract high concentrations of waterfowl and shorebirds. Water is often scarce in this region, and wetlands such as playas are primary gathering areas for birds. This is especially true during migration, when thousands of birds flock to a single wetland to feed and roost. Development of wind turbines, power lines, and associated structures near wetlands may pose a risk of birds (including endangered species such as the whooping crane) colliding with these structures.
To help industry professionals minimize collisions and other potential impacts of wind development on wetland birds and lesser prairie chickens, the PLJV has identified areas of high wetland density and prairie chicken use throughout the region. Detailed information, including maps identifying these areas, have been posted on the internet.
To obtain digital maps, phone Megan McLachlan at 308-382-6468, ext. 38.
Policy News: PLJV Signs Agreement With Farm Services Agency
The Playa Lakes Joint Venture has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the United States Dept. of Agriculture's (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA), which details how PLJV and FSA will cooperate to enroll more playas into the Continuous Conservation Reserve Program (CCRP). The specifics of the agreement involve PLJV and FSA cooperating on outreach and educational activities aimed at landowners/operators; jointly training the local office FSA personnel on CP23A, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) practice in CCRP that is specifically aimed at conserving playas, and other programs administered by FSA; assesses allowing playas to be enrolled in counties where the 25% cap on CRP enrollments is in place; and behooves PLJV to go find more outside dollars to use for playa conservation & restoration. It also talked about deciding whether to add Practice Incentive Payments and Signing Incentive Payments to CP23A, which FSA has now put in place (See attached PDF) to help make the CP23A practice more economically attractive to landowners. The MOA also allows joint collaboration on outreach activities like the upcoming CP23A Pilot Mailing, which hopes to inform and motivate expiring CRP contract holders to enroll their acres into CP23A and other conservation practices, thereby keeping as many as possible of the already realized benefits of CRP on their acres in place. This pilot will assess if such mailings lead to added enrollments in CCRP. If there is a positive response, then additional mailings will be made in 2010-2012 for the entire PLJV region.
Mapping Programs: How CRP Expirations Will Open Up County Caps
Expiring CRP will open up county caps in the PLJV states where efforts to enroll playas in CCRP have been stymied because many counties in the TX and OK Panhandle have been capped as well as counties in SE CO, SW KS, and NE NM. Meg can tell you how quickly that will happen and provide the map showing what is now capped and when they will have enough CRP acres expire to lift the caps. There is a provision in the 2008 Farm Bill which allows the cap to be waived for CCRP and Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) enrollments upon a favorable vote of the county government but we are still waiting for the rule-making process for CRP to be finished.
PLJV Goes the Extra Mile for New Conservation Science Director
Anne Bartuszevige, PhD, joined the PLJV in 2008 as Conservation Science Director and brings a wealth of experience focused on grassland ecosystems, avian science and private lands conservation. Anne most recently worked at Oregon State University’s Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center in Union, Oregon. There, she studied the change in territory occupancy of red-tailed, ferruginous and Swainson’s hawks on a northeast bunchgrass prairie known as the Zumwalt. Anne earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Hope College in Holland, MI and a master’s degree in biological sciences with a conservation biology emphasis from Illinois State University (ISU). While at ISU she studied pesticide contamination in grassland songbirds in Illinois. After completing her master’s degree, Anne attended Miami University in Ohio and received a PhD in botany in 2004. During her PhD she studied the spread of an invasive shrub to new forest fragments. Anne also has extensive experience working with PLJV partner organizations such as the USDA Forest Service, USDA Farm Service Agency and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and The Nature Conservancy. She also has already published a dozen scientific publications in her young career.
PLJV Hires New Communications Director
Michael Soloway joined the PLJV in 2009 as Communications Director and brings more than 14 years of nonprofit marketing and communications experience, supporting vital missions, such as promoting public health, advocating for alternative energy and preventing juvenile delinquency. Michael’s many responsibilities have included writing press releases, managing web content and speaking to reporters and community civic groups as organizations’ community outreach liaison. In 1999, Michael designed the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches’ specialty license plate and developed the "Tag, you're it!" advertising campaign. As an accomplished editor, he has also directed the editorial and artistic content for a variety of print and Web publications. In 2002, Michael was recruited by NASA Headquarters in Washington to serve in the Internal News & Communications Office. As team lead—material design and development, he was responsible for writing and editing many of the space agency’s communications tools, and served on the communications crisis team that formed in the aftermath of the Space Shuttle Columbia accident. Michael earned a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University in 1992 and has taken master’s level creative writing classes. Michael has also won multiple awards for his work, including three CASE Awards for design and excellence in photojournalism.
Rainwater Basin Joint Venture Names New Coordinator
Andy Bishop of Grand Island has been selected as the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture’s new Coordinator, beginning February 1. In his new role, Bishop will facilitate the cooperative efforts of landowners, conservation groups, government agencies and others to protect and restore migratory bird habitat in south-central Nebraska’s Rainwater Basin region.
A native of Kearney, Bishop earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in biology at the University of Nebraska-Kearney. Since 2003 he worked for the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture, and then for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Much of his work during that time involved developing biological and geographic models that help quantify the habitat needs of waterfowl migrating through this region, and target locations that will provide the greatest habitat value.
Bishop replaces Steve Moran, who retired in early January. Moran remarked that Bishop’s scientific knowledge and biological planning expertise will help Joint Venture partners make good decisions in their habitat planning and projects. “Informed decisions by everyone involved in conservation create the strong foundation that we need to progress,” Moran said.
As a Nebraskan, Bishop said he feels fortunate to be able to work for conservation in his home state. “The Rainwater Basin Joint Venture is a unique partnership,” he said. “It provides partners with opportunities to be successful through collaboration and cooperation with multiple agencies.” He said he hopes to forge new partnerships and to continue the tradition of finding “win-win” solutions that help partners maximize their conservation potential.
The Rainwater Basin Joint Venture, through partners in south-central Nebraska, works to conserve wetland habitat for waterfowl and other birds in the Rainwater Basin region, which stretches from Gosper County in the west to Butler, Seward and Saline Counties in the east. For more information about the Joint Venture, visit www.rwbjv.org.