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February 2020


PLAYA POST
This month we’re excited about receiving a new grant from the Wildlife Conservation Society that will help Kansas communities conserve their playas to increase water recharge to the aquifer.

We’re also sharing photos from recent events, giving quick updates on ongoing projects like the playa calculator, and highlighting accomplishments from the 2019 Annual Report.

Plus, we’ve included information on a
job opportunity and upcoming workshops in Kansas. 
The town of Leoti, Kansas is seen from above. PLJV will work with Leoti officials to conserve their playas.

Playas Recharging Kansas Communities project gets boost from WCS grant


In the Kansas towns of Leoti and Tribune, community members and city officials are taking steps toward addressing the potential lack of water in future years. With a recently awarded $250,000 grant from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Climate Adaptation Fund, PLJV will continue to collaborate with the two communities to include playa restoration in these efforts and export the model to other towns. 

Funding from the WCS grant will be used to restore playas near municipal and domestic wells in Wichita and Greeley counties. Starting with these towns, the Playas Recharging Kansas Communities project, also referred to locally as the Groundwater Recharge and Sustainability Project, will focus on playa restoration that will provide more and cleaner water to the Ogallala aquifer for the people living in these communities, as well as provide critical habitat for wetland birds. 

“Increasingly, our wildlife goals are becoming more closely aligned with societal goals,” said PLJV Coordinator Mike Carter. “It’s exciting that we can do wildlife work that is combined with supporting communities and society in general.”

 
Learn more
Dive deeper: Review how playas recharge the aquifer and read what scientists say about recharge through playas.

Background: We’ve compiled a list of scientific papers that describe the biological and societal value of playas, their overall and specific threats, and some of the programs that can help restore and conserve them.

Management Board sees broader relevance of JV’s work during Kansas meeting  


One theme stood out during the PLJV management board meeting in January: relevance.

Discussion of agricultural transition and municipal water efforts in Kansas and New Mexico, among other topics, all fell under an overarching theme of how PLJV’s work can remain relevant to agricultural producers and landowners while also sustaining conservation efforts for birds and wildlife habitat.

This theme was carried out of the meeting room and onto the field during a trip to the R9 Ranch, a piece of land purchased by the city of Hays to transfer water rights for irrigation to municipal use. 

During the tour, the board had an opportunity to see an example of agricultural transition as the landscape showcased how rapidly change can occur and the successful progression of native grass plantings in recent years became evident throughout the sixty-eight hundred acre piece of land.

The board also saw two pieces of land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program — where landowners stopped farming marginal ground and retired the water rights for those fields.
Set the scene: Take a look at photos from R9 Ranch and the board meeting.

Conservation delivery highlighted in 2019 Annual Report


Much like discussions at the Management Board meeting, recent work by the joint venture is similarly rooted in an approach to foster relevancy. This is made evident by multiple projects featured in the 2019 annual report.

In addition to developing new tools for the benefit of our partnership and regional communities, such as an interactive playa map and landowner films, PLJV also continued to work with partners on Playa Conservation Initiatives in Texas, New Mexico and Kansas. The JV also continued to focus on using data to answer habitat management questions with the Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions (IMBCR) program.
Read the report
conservation collaboration
PLJV talked playas, wind energy, and more at Kansas Natural Resources Conference

The states in the PLJV region are consistently top producers of wind energy, so PLJV has developed recommendations for avoiding playas when siting new energy developments. 

During a session at the Kansas Natural Resources Conference in late January, PLJV Coordinator Mike Carter showed how wind energy development is intersecting with playas across our landscape. He also shared information on available planning tools, including PLJV’s wind siting guidance for playas, a web map that has wind and playa layers that can be used for siting and evaluation, and an evolving Wind Collaborative that provides a forum for discussion between PLJV staff and stakeholders working on wind energy.

“Wind is going to be a long term energy source and developing these relationships is an investment in the future,” Carter said. “It will be important to develop two-way communication to understand and protect the interests of the industry as well as wildlife.”

Also during the concurrent sessions at the conference, PLJV Science Director Anne Bartuszevige discussed the Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions (IMBCR) program and patterns and solutions to agricultural transition, and Conservation Delivery Specialist Matt Smith shared the joint venture’s approach to working on aquifer recharge through playas with Kansas communities.
Dive deeper: Read more about PLJVs energy development siting recommendations.
in the field
Playa Calculator meetings held in New Mexico and Texas

PLJV staff traveled to Texas and New Mexico in early February to hold the next round of meetings with agricultural producers and landowners to discuss the creation of the playa calculator tool.

In Amarillo and Lubbock, Texas, and in Clovis, New Mexico, staff met with a wide variety of producers. From dryland and irrigated farmers to ranchers, the group had a range of experiences with managing playas on their land and varied perspectives on playa conservation.


“Hearing a variety of opinions is beneficial because we are trying to build a tool that meets the diverse needs of our region,” said Meghan Bogaerts, Landscape Planner & GIS Analyst at PLJV, who led the meetings. “To do this, we need to hear from a variety of people to build something that legitimately fits.”

The calculator will be designed to provide information about playas and conservation programs that could help with the management decision-making process.
Current resources: Looking forward to the calculator tool? In the meantime, you can use PLJV’s interactive playa map to explore the playa region.
job opportunity
Northern Great Plains Joint Venture Assistant Coordinator

Northern Great Plains Joint Venture is looking for an Assistant Coordinator to support the JV partnership and management board by coordinating, promoting, guiding and facilitating the delivery of science-based habitat conservation projects and programs in portions of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. 

The position will be hosted by Ducks Unlimited and preferably be based out of Billings, Montana.

Deadline to apply is February 24, 2020. For further details on qualifications and responsibilities of the role, click here.
upcoming workshops
Kansas landowners invited to wetlands and invasive tree management workshops

Landowners are invited to join area biologists to talk about wetlands, how to manage them on their land, and program options available for doing wetland work in the region during the Wetland Management and Conservation Workshop on March 5th in Abbyville, Kansas. Learn more about the workshop, including session topics and times.

Later in the month, landowners are also invited to hear from experts on why managing salt cedar and tamarisk is important, recent accomplishments in control methods, impacts on quail and deer habitat, and rangeland quality issues at a workshop and field demonstration in Syracuse, Kansas. Learn more and register for the event.

Go further: Learn how removing invasives can help landowners.

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Photo Credits
The city of Leoti, Kansas (PLJV). Board members during the Larned field trip to see CREP fields (PLJV). Mike Carter talks about wind energy and playas at the Kansas Natural Resources Conference (PLJV). PLJV staff meet with landowners in Clovis, New Mexico to discuss the playa calculator tool. (PLJV).

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303-926-0777

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Playa Lakes Joint Venture · 2675 Northpark Drive, Suite 208 · Lafayette, CO 80026 · USA

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