June 7, 2007

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CANYON – Wildlife-friendly management of playa lakes promises to be significant in Texas due to the unique functions these wetlands provide, said a Texas Cooperative Extension specialist.

To help promote management planning, two Playa Appreciation Days will be held this month, said Ken Cearley, Extension wildlife specialist in Canyon.

Both meetings will begin at 8:30 a.m. The first is scheduled for June 25 at the Home Mercantile Building in Nazareth, and the second on June 27 at the Floyd County Friends Unity Center in Muncy.

The meetings will include sessions on the identification of important playa plants, form and function of playas, ways to manage playas for pheasants and waterfowl, and available assistance programs, Cearley said.

Special programs will be presented on the MossyOak / Ducks Unlimited Ochiltree County playa restoration project and the Ogallala Commons, he said. Other programs will cover hunting, leasing and other recreational opportunities, as well as agencies that offer management assistance.

A field tour at each site will show nearby contrasting playa management scenarios, such as heavily grazed vs. lightly grazed or ungrazed, cropland playa with buffer vs. without, fenced vs. unfenced, Cearley said.

Playas make up 400,000 acres in the High Plains, or about 2 percent of the land area, he said. Texas has the largest number of playas, an estimated 20,000. Another 10,000 playas can be found in New Mexico, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma.

Playas are an important landscape feature, Cearley said.

"These small wetland areas hold enormous capability for ecosystem contribution, yet often fall short of their productive potential due to lack of management," he said. "In many cases, playas are ignored, unnoticed or over-utilized."

Ranging from less than an acre to several hundred acres, playas serve as a source of Ogallala Aquifer replenishment and provide habitat for numerous wildlife species, Cearley said.

Several million migrating waterfowl and 400,000 sandhill cranes use these wetlands each year, he said. As many as 250,000 ducks are reared each year on Texas playas, and pheasants use the wetlands for year-round habitat, especially for winter cover.

The primary uses for playa lakes are crop production, grazing, wildlife production and wintering habitat, urban and other runoff containment, Cearley said.

A $10 fee will cover the cost of a noon meal at each meeting.

Reservations are requested by June 20 for the Nazareth meeting. Call Steve Young, Extension agent in Castro County, at 806-647-3218. Reservations are needed by June 22 for the Muncy meeting. Call J.D. Ragland, Extension agent in Floyd County, at 806-983-4912.