• PLJV Capacity Grant Helps Fund ‘Personal Contact’ to Increase Interest in Wetlands Conservation

• Mapping Tool Targets Lesser Prairie-Chicken Habitat Reclamation Efforts in New Mexico

• Lesser Prairie-Chicken Habitat Initiative Gains Support

• Project BEAK Offers Fun, Interactive Bird Education

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PLJV Capacity Grant Helps Fund ‘Personal Contact’ to Increase Interest in Wetlands Conservation

	Art Gomez, KAWS Wetland Coordinator, points toward a playa

Each year, Playa Lakes Joint Venture (PLJV) gives up to $120,000 in Capacity Grants to extend habitat conservation projects throughout the playa lakes region. The grants are intended to help PLJV partners move beyond their current capabilities and increase their ongoing capacity to develop and deliver habitat projects.

The Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams (KAWS) is one of the partners awarded a 2010 Capacity Grant for $20,000. The grant will help fund a five-year project that targets and contacts landowners in western Kansas in order to educate them about playa conservation programs.

In recent years, many of the playas in western Kansas have been protected under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), but this is mostly a rental program, and more than a million of those contracted acres are scheduled to expire over the next three years. In addition, since 2008, there has been a decrease in the number of authorized CRP acres.

"There are farmers in western Kansas who have been enrolled in CRP for 25 years. All the sudden, this program is ending, and they don’t know of any option other than to turn the playa back into farmland," says Harold Klaege, KAWS Executive Director.

At a time when the need to contact landowners about playa conservation and protection programs is so important, there has also been a decrease in the number of staff at the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), leaving the ability to communicate with landowners about protecting and restoring playas at an all-time low.

In order to fill this communication void, KAWS developed a contribution agreement with NRCS to promote playa restoration and protection in the western half of Kansas. In December 2008, KAWS hired a part-time wetland coordinator, funded in part by the PLJV grant, to contact landowners who have playas on CRP acres that are due to expire. As part of the agreement, NRCS provides office space, a vehicle and a computer for the wetland coordinator.

"The PLJV Capacity Grant allows us to do something nobody else is doing," says Klaege. "The NRCS and FSA don’t have the staff or the resources to make one-to-one contacts, but the wetlands coordinator has no other responsibilities except to make personal contact with the farmers. He speaks their language — profit and bottom line."

In 2009, the NRCS received 68 WRP applications from landowners in Kansas, up from only 12 in 2008. Almost three-quarters of those applications came from western Kansas where Art Gomez has been contacting landowners.

Art Gomez, the KAWS wetland coordinator, calls landowners to discuss conservation programs — including the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), Wetland Restoration Program (CP23), Wetland Restoration Program (CP23a) and Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Playa Lakes Incentive Program — then, if they are interested, meets with them in person. He has also learned about the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) small grants program and educates landowners about how they may be able to tap into that permanent protection funding source.

During the past year, Art has personally talked with 400 landowners. "Many landowners or producers have only a slight interest in or knowledge of wetland conservation programs," explains Gomez, "even though they’ve received information and mailings in the past. By making personal contact — over the phone or face-to-face — I’ve seen their interest increase. They realize, if there is a playa or wetland on their acreage, there is still a method of creating income to help offset input prices that affect the bottom line of their farming/ranching operation."

When asked about the amount of money available through these programs, Art refers landowners to their local NRCS or FSA office. He also advises them to check into the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) since the rate caps per acre have almost doubled in western Kansas.

"With the help of Art Gomez and KAWS' additional work with NRCS, more Wetlands Reserve Program applications are being received," says Christopher Rustay, PLJV Conservation Delivery Leader. "This past year, the Kansas NRCS received a total of 68 WRP applications from landowners, up from only 12 in 2008. Almost three-quarters of those applications came from western Kansas. We know this increase is due in part to the KAWS program and are excited to see it expand in 2010."

Mapping Tool Targets Lesser Prairie-Chicken Habitat Reclamation Efforts in New Mexico

	Figure 1: Current range (cross-hatched areas) and historic range (dotted line) of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken, courtesy of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Interstate Working Group.

In December 2009, a multi-agency conservation team released the first version of a mapping tool that identifies and prioritizes areas for reclamation work based on the potential benefit to the Lesser Prairie-Chicken (LEPC). This mapping tool will be used to improve the LEPC habitat in New Mexico.

At one time, this resident grouse species could be found throughout eastern New Mexico, but today its range has receded to small areas in the state’s southeastern region. Because of precipitous population declines, it is currently being petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act and is of high conservation concern.

"In order to survive, the Lesser Prairie-Chicken requires large, intact patches of grassland, greater than 10,000 acres," says Grant Beauprez, a Lesser Prairie-Chicken biologist with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, "but much of its habitat has been fragmented and degraded by oil and gas activity."

Representatives from PLJV, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), The Nature Conservancy, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, New Mexico State Land Office, US Fish and Wildlife Service, several oil companies and other organizations have been working together to develop an area conservation strategy for the Lesser Prairie-Chicken, which includes the reclamation of abandoned oil and gas sites. PLJV has been guiding the targeting work through a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The grant also provides an additional $200,000 in funding for infrastructure removal work.

Oil and gas infrastructure — such as well pads, roads, and utility lines — fragment and degrade LEPC habitat. The BLM-New Mexico has been working to restore some of the impacted habitat by reclaiming abandoned oil and gas wells. However, with hundreds of wells and limited reclamation funding, the BLM needed a way to determine where reclamation work would be most beneficial to the Lesser Prairie-Chickens. This need spurred the formation of the multi-agency team and the development of the mapping tool.

The mapping tool is based on a prioritization process, which employs the principles of Strategic Habitat Conservation as set forth by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and is applied in a Geographic Information System (GIS), a computer-mapping environment. The tool prioritizes areas for reclamation based on six criteria addressing the habitat needs of the LEPC.

"For example, the tool places a high value on areas near leks because they are critical for reproduction," explains Megan McLachlan, GIS Analyst for PLJV. "Areas with federal mineral rights also receive a high value. This is because the BLM has pledged not to lease any mineral rights in this area for future oil and gas development in order to protect the Lesser Prairie-Chicken."

The first version of the mapping tool will be used by the BLM to target their reclamation work in 2010. Later this year, the team plans to reevaluate the tool to determine if refinements are needed. The tool may also be adapted for similar purposes such as prioritizing areas for conservation easements or habitat restoration work.

Figure 2: A map showing priority areas in southeast New Mexico for reclaiming oil and gas infrastructure to improve the quality of habitat for the Lesser Prairie-Chicken. Tier 1 areas (shown in dark blue) receive the highest priority, although all Tiers should be considered areas important for the conservation of the species.

Lesser Prairie-Chicken Habitat Initiative Gains Support

Local and congressional support is growing for the establishment of a Continuous Conservation Reserve Program (CCRP) targeting the Lesser Prairie-Chicken (LEPC), a candidate for threatened status under the Endangered Species Act. Such a listing could have significant adverse impacts on the regional economy, including farming, ranching and energy development.

At this time, within the area where Lesser Prairie-Chickens live, there are approximately six million acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, but 76 percent of those acres are due to expire in the next four years.

As stated in a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and signed by Senators Michael F. Bennet, Jeff Bingaman, Mark Udall and Tom Udall:

"Targeted CRP enrollments could play an instrumental role in bringing this species back from the brink and averting the need to list it under the Endangered Species Act. Establishing a High Plains LEPC CRP initiative along with making modifications to existing CRP policies and initiative allotments, including reducing extension and reenrollment restrictions on expiring CRP contracts, could also provide important economic benefits to farmers and ranchers during this period of great economic turmoil.

"A High Plains LEPC CRP could also provide other critical environmental benefits, such as protecting drought-prone, sandy soils from wind-blown erosion, and helping to recharge the Ogallala aquifer, particularly on enrollments in which playa lakes are restored."

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is listening and considering the initiative as shown by a statement from Administrator Jonathan Coppess during a U.S. House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy and Research hearing held on October 7, 2009. "We are entertaining proposals to address at-risk species, such as lesser prairie chicken habitat in Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas, and Kansas."

In addition, FSA representatives Lynn Tjeerdsma, Assistant Deputy Administrator for Programs, and Skip Hyberg, an agricultural economist, traveled to Kansas in October for a tour of the CRP grasslands being used by Lesser Prairie-Chickens and to gather information on how to broaden the successes seen on western Kansas CRP acres.

Letters and other expressions of support have been instrumental in the Farm Service Agency’s consideration of this initiative. Supporters include:

• Colorado Senator Michael F. Bennet
• Colorado Senator Mark Udall
• Colorado Representative Betsy Markey
• Colorado Division of Wildlife
• Environmental Defense Fund
• Kansas Representative Jerry Moran
• Kansas Association of Wheat Growers
• Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks
• Kansas Farm Bureau
• Kansas Farmers Union
• Lesser Prairie Chicken Interstate Working Group
• New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
• New Mexico Senator Jeff Bingaman
• New Mexico Senator Tom Udall
• Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
• Playa Lakes Joint Venture
• Rocky Mountain Farmers Union
• Texas Representative Michael Conaway
• Texas Representative Randy Neugebauer
• Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society
• Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
• Texas Upland Game Bird Advisory Council
• The Nature Conservancy - Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas Chapters
• Western Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies
• Westar Energy

Project BEAK Offers Fun, Interactive Bird Education

Teachers, students and bird enthusiasts can now learn about Nebraska birds through an interactive, web-based curriculum that includes video clips, games, quizzes, diagrams, and classroom lesson plans. Project BEAK contains scientifically accurate information about Nebraska’s unique avian biodiversity, its threatened and endangered birds, as well as bird adaptations and conservation efforts.

The new website is getting an enthusiastic response from teachers. "WOW!!!! What an amazing, educational website! I love the video clips, the artwork, and the migration game. Thank you for all you’ve done to help educate our youth (and adults) about the birds of Nebraska!"

Divided into six different modules, the website is targeted to students in the fifth through eighth grades.

The Teacher Resources Unit provides interdisciplinary, standards-based activities that teach students about birds, including migration patterns, special adaptations and habitats.

The Birding Basics Unit informs visitors about how to start birding and what to do when injured or distressed birds are found.

The Rare Ones Unit explains how birds serve as biological indicators, which helps us measure the health of our environment.

The Nebraska Habitats Unit teaches about the wide variety of bird habitats (forest, prairie, shrubland, wetland, farmland and urban) found across Nebraska.

The Adaptations Unit shows the many features and behaviors Nebraska birds have adapted to survive in the special places they live.

The Birds & People Unit explores various ways humans have interacted with, learned from, and come to respect and value birds.

Project BEAK was designed and created by the Education Workgroup of the Nebraska Bird Partnership (NBP), in cooperation with Nebraska Educational Television, and funding from the Nebraska Environmental Trust, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Nebraska Wildlife Conservation Fund. Plans are underway to secure additional grant funds that will be used to add sound clips, interactive flash pieces, and an online Nebraska Bird Identification Guide.

The NBP Education Workgroup believes the more students understand and are connected to the places where they live, the more they care about what happens on the land. "Our goal is to help youth and adults understand that they can make a difference for bird conservation both locally and globally," says project leader Jeanine Lackey, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "and, as educators and biologists, it is our responsibility to show them how."

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