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| Listen to recent episodes of Playa Country: |
Texas WRP offers different options - Texas landowners can choose a 10-year, 30-year or permanent easement, according to the NRCS state conservationist.
(aired 7/26/10)
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Wetlands Reserve Program
- A Natural Resources Conservation Service program can help landowners
afford to restore playas that have been lost to development.
(aired 7/19/09) |
Endangered Species Act- We learn more about the process of listing species as endangered- and what it means for landowners and the environment.
(aired 7/12/10) |
| Ranching in the Red Hills - Ted Alexander's ranch in the heart of the Kansas Red Hills is a model of stewardship and sustainable environmental practices. Alexander also helped form the Comanche Pool Prairie Resources Foundation and the Kansas Grazing Lands Coalition. (aired 7/5/10) |
| Conserving in Northeast Colorado - Ducks Unlimited will purchase a conservation easement on the Heyborne property, near the South Platte River in Northeast Colorado. The result will be some immediate benefits for various wetland-dependent species in the Platte Basin. (aired 6/26/10) |
| Saving Our Shared Birds - North America is home to 882 native landbird species, more than one-third of which depend on habitats in more than one country. We now face unprecedented loss of bird populations and the imminent threat of extinction of many species. Conserving our shared North American birds will require a continental, and ultimately hemispheric, perspective and a commitment to international cooperation. (aired 6/21/10) |
Helping landowners preserve Prairie Chicken habitats - As people throughout the region mobilize to preserve Lesser Prairie Chicken Habitats, federal programs can help landowners wishing to protect habitat on their land. Applications are due July 9.
(aired 6/14/10)
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Range School in Western Kansas this July - The Kansas Grazing Lands Coalition offers an annual program that combines rangeland ecology with livestock management.
(aired 6/7/10)
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Identifying Prairie Chicken habitats in NM - New surveys are mapping critical Lesser Prairie Chicken habitats in Eastern New Mexico.
(aired 5/31/10)
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A Guide to Waterbirds - What exactly is a waterbird? Find out what they are and which ones can be found in our listening area.
(aired 5/24/10) |
District Birding Days - For most of the year, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Wildlife Division staff are busy with a variety of duties and responsibilities, but on one day a year in each of the six districts, they get together to do a “District Birding Day” at one or more of the agency’s Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs).
(aired 5/17/10) |
Regional Efforts Contribute to International Conservation Plan - The North American Waterfowl Management Plan aims to conserve migratory waterfowl throughout the continent. We'll see how the conservation efforts of Playa Lakes Joint Venture fit in.
(aired 5/10/10) |
Migrating Birds Could Use a Helping Hand - The American Bird Conservancy has identified the top ten things people can do to aid or protect declining birds in their own back yards.
(aired 5/03/10) |
Saving the Bald Eagle - An avian research center in Oklahoma administers a conservation program that has helped the resurgence of the Bald Eagle in parts of the Southern United States.
(aired 4/26/10)
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Grazing Cooperatives - We visit with the coordinator of the Kansas Grazing Lands Coalition to learn more about what they do and how grazing associations impact local areas.
(aired 4/19/10) |
Amphibians of the Southern High Plains - Salamanders, frogs and toads...in our semi-arid region? The amphibians of the High Plains are as close as the nearest playa.
(aired 4/12/10)
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Snowy Plovers- At the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge there are significantly more snowy plovers than once thought. We'll explore why their numbers are larger than thought and why there is still concern over their population.
(aired 4/05/10) |
Restoring the Jamestown Area - In North Central Kansas, a wetland once choked by cattails now welcomes wildlife and humans alike.
(aired 3/29/10)
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Endangered Species Act- We learn more about the process of listing species as endangered.
(aired 3/22/10) |
Collaboration in Colorado - The renewable energy community and the conservation community are working together to address environmental concerns in Colorado.
(aired 3/15/10) |
2012 Farm Bill - A look at the process of working on the Farm Bill.
(aired 3/08/10) |
Science-based Guidance - PLJV provides science-based guidance and decision support tools for bird conservation in the region.
(aired 3/01/10) |
"Ground truthing" maps - Keeping the maps of the vast Playa Lakes Joint Venture service region is a daunting task- but GIS technologies make it easier.
(aired 2/22/10) |
Communicating conservation - A graduate student at Harvard is designing a communications network aimed at promoting conservation of the Ogallala Aquifer and playa lakes.
(aired 2/15/10) |
The Farm Bill - The ways to track the Farm Bill and make your voice heard.
(aired 2/8/10) |
Being a conservation professional - Working in the conservation field no longer means that one necessarily is a government employee.
(aired 2/1/10) |
Mid-winter survey - Every year the mid-winter waterfowl survey is conducted. Here's more on how and why they count them.
(aired 1/25/10) |
Project BEAK - There's new, content-rich educational website about the birds of Nebraska. You don't have to be student or a Nebraskan to find the site informative and fun.
(aired 1/18/10)
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Landowners and Wind Energy - Landowners can learn the process of leasing space for wind energy and what they should be aware of when approached about a potential project.
(aired 1/11/10) |
Who you gonna call? - When it comes to deciphering the twists and turns of public policy- or voicing your opinion on those policies- who do you contact, and how?
(aired 1/4/10)
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Wing Bees - What impact do wing bees have in determining the annual waterfowl harvest?
(aired 12/28/09) |
Oklahoma Burn Indemnity Fund - Landowners in Oklahoma may soon have a new source of insurance to protect against losses associated with liability for prescribed burn accidents. But the fund needs money.
(aired 12/21/09)
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Liability for Prescribed Burns- What's the liability faced when landowners participate in a prescribed burn?
(aired 12/14/09) |
Wetlands Reserve Program - A Natural Resources Conservation Service program can help landowners afford to restore playas that have been lost to development.
(aired 12/7/09)
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Restoring Riparian Areas, the Neighborly Way - the National Wild Turkey Federation is making efforts to restore riparian areas along the Canadian River.
(aired 11/30/09) |
The Child's Playa - In Southeast Colorado, one local school district is making a special effort to teach fifth-graders about the playa lakes in their home region.
(aired 11/23/09)
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Long-Billed Curlew Status -The Curlew population is higher than originally anticipated, but the bird isn't out of the woods yet.
(aired 11/16/09)
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Texas Playa Maps - The Center for Geospatial Technologies at Texas Tech has mapped the playas of the High Plains in West Texas...and the work continues.
(aired 11/09/09) |
Duck Stamps - More on what the program is and how it benefits ducks and other waterfowl.
(aired 11/02/09) |
Texas Tech aquifer map series - Researchers at Texas Tech have mapped the Ogallala Aquifer in Texas. Maps also depict center-pivot locations.
(aired 10/26/09) |
Playa Ecosystem and Cycle - Here are the basics of seasonal wetlands on the High Plains and their changing roles in providing habitat.
(aired 10/19/09) |
Texas Panhandle aquifer levels - How much of the Ogallala Aquifer in the Texas Panhandle should be remaining in 50 years? 80 percent? 50 percent? 40? Desired future conditions differ by locality.
(aired 10/12/09) |
Kearney County CRP - Hear about a fellow farmer's experience with the Conservation Reserve Program.
(aired 10/05/09) |
Clovis works to save its "urban" playa - The Nature Conservancy is one of several groups helping to turn one playa into a both a haven for wildlife and also a community resource.
(aired 09/28/09) |
Eastern Red Cedar Removal in Oklahoma - Follow the efforts of the High Plains RC&D as they come up with creative solutions to remove the Eastern Red Cedar in Oklahoma.
(aired 09/21/09) |
Lesser Prairie Chicken status under review - The Lesser Prairie Chicken's aversion to wind turbines could spell trouble if wind development pushes the bird into threatened or endangered status.
(aired 09/14/09) |
Long-Billed Curlew - Take a journey with the Long-Billed Curlew in Nebraska and learn about a Curlew tracking project.
(aired 09/07/09) |
The Ogallala in Oklahoma - The Ogallala Aquifer lies underneath most of the Oklahoma Panhandle. Those areas with the most groundwater are also the areas with the highest rates of groundwater depletion.
(aired 8/31/09) |
Re-introducing the Lesser Prairie Chicken - The Lesser Prairie Chicken requires a habitat free from human development. This presents a challenge for re-introducing the bird into its former range.
(aired 8/24/09) |
Revising maps of the Ogallala in Kansas - Ongoing efforts to provide accurate measurements of current Ogallala Aquifer levels in Western Kansas will result in some new maps soon.
(aired 8/17/09) |
Playa numbers exceed old estimates - Researchers at the University of Kansas have revised the estimated number of playas.
(aired 8/10/09) |
Ducks Unlimited helping conserve playas - Not only do ducks from other regions use the playas of the High Plains during migration, but some species also call the High Plains home. Organizations like Ducks Unlimited rely on corporate sponsorship to help preserve the birds' fragile wetland habitats.
(aired 8/3/09) |
Playa Country
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