The last week in February, a group of landowners gathered in Roosevelt County, New Mexico to watch fire management teams burn 1,700 acres of land. The event was part of a prescribed burn in the area, meant to mitigate the effects of wildfires while also creating ideal habitat for Lesser Prairie-Chicken and other grassland birds […]

With about 23,000 playas in the Southern High Plains of Texas, the state is undoubtedly an important place for playa restoration and conservation. But, despite their abundance and ability to support aquifer recharge, they often go unnoticed or underappreciated. As a solution to this, a number of conservation organizations came together in 2015 to form […]

Ducks Unlimited was recently awarded three standard NAWCA grants for projects located in the PLJV region: Kansas Prairie Wetlands VI in Kansas, North Platte River Wetlands III in Nebraska, and Platte River Wetlands Partnership V in Colorado. The projects will restore, enhance and protect riparian habitat as well as playa wetlands. Kansas Prairie Wetlands VI […]

In 2013, Matt Hough wrote his first North American Wetland Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant proposal while working as an intern at Ducks Unlimited (DU) in Nebraska. Now, seven years later, as manager of conservation programs for Kansas at DU, writing NAWCA grants is an integral part of his everyday work. Projects that Hough and the […]

Understanding the ways various decisions could change the habitat and livelihood of birds is always an important aspect of a project, no matter the scale. For habitat projects within the PLJV region, there is an online tool that can provide that type of information to conservation planners and project managers. The Rocky Mountain Avian Data […]

To help better understand potential uses of the Rocky Mountain Avian Data Center, we’ve put together a query to illustrate how the database can be used and act as a gateway to exploring it. In 2019, PLJV used IMBCR grids to evaluate how grassland birds respond to increasing percent cover of shrubs, particularly mesquite. Preliminary […]

The Texas panhandle provides valuable resources for developing wind energy and, simultaneously, hosts thousands of playas, an important wetland habitat for migratory birds. When working on creating wind energy farms in this area, considering these valuable habitats is an important step in the development process, but avoiding playas can be difficult in places like Texas […]

A new enterprise to address declining aquifer levels will soon be available in Wichita and Greeley counties. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is investing $1.4 million in a partner-driven Groundwater Recharge and Sustainability Project (GRASP) to support local communities through its Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). The project has an additional $1.5 million in […]

The executive director of Ranchland Trust of Kansas, PLJV’s recent capacity grant awardee, took time recently to discuss the organization’s project goals, what she hopes will come from the work, and her thoughts on capacity grants. (The interview has been edited for length and clarity.) PLJV: What made you think Ranchland Trust of Kansas (RTK) […]

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 […]