Integrating Human Dimensions into Biological Planning for Bird

Conservation in the Western Great Plains

Anne Bartuszevige, Miruh Hamend, Mike Carter, Barth Crouch

Playa Lakes Joint Venture

Playa Lakes Joint Venture

A regional partnership dedicated to conserving bird habitat throughout the western Great Plains

Boundaries encompass most of the short- and mixed-grass prairie bird conservation regions

Playas are the most numerous wetland type in the region and critical to supporting wildlife

Playas

80,000 PlayasEphemeral

WetlandsAquifer Recharge

Birds Love Them

PLJV Demographics

● PLJV 2010 population:

8,765,146

● PLJV Core:

2,950,640

● PLJV Inner Core:

1,924,229

Playa Lakes Joint Venture Region

75% of the Population

1% of the Land

20% of the Population

29% of the Land

5% of the Population

70% of the Land

Human Dimensions Question

What motivates landowners to enroll, or not, in a playa conservation program?

Possible motivators Economic considerations

Peer acceptance of their actions

Ease of making agreements with the government

Loss of control over the land

Not understanding results of intended conservation action

Addition of more unforeseen work

We Can Speculate… or Ask

● DJ Case & Associates conducted 13 focus groups across the Playa Lakes & Rainwater Basin JVs

Talked with farmers and ranchers who have playas on their property

Held in areas with large playa clusters as identified by PLJV's Playa Decision Support System

● Funded by Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative

Landowner Focus Groups

What We HeardPrimary Reasons to Conserve Playas

Economics — higher return

Conservation — “I like wildlife and farming is risky, so why fight it?”

What We HeardSecondary Reasons to Conserve Playas

Hunting — for themselves or leasing rights

Rest the land — make it more productive

What We HeardPrimary Reasons NOT to Conserve

Playas

Economics – powerful incentives to farm/ranch them

Distrust government – programs/requirements can change quickly

What We HeardSecondary Reasons NOT to Conserve

Playas

Hassle – not worth the effort Location & size of playa matters Makes no sense to “waste” the forage and water in playas

What We HeardEnrolling Land in Conservation

Programs

Is price per acre competitive?

Length of contract

What control do you give up?

Who administers contract?

What We HeardKey Beliefs About Playas & the Aquifer

Amount of recharge is not significant

Need more information!How much recharge? How long does it take?

Info must be from a credible source

Conservation efforts are “too little, too late”

What We HeardIf Convinced Playas Provided Benefits

Would you take action to conserve them? A large majority would conserve playas to help the aquifer Fewer would conserve playas for wildlife benefits only, but

most would consider it

Impediments to Playa Conservation

Lack of understanding of playa functions/benefits

Need for more information on connection between playas and aquifer (amount, time to recharge, relative significance)

Skepticism about whether playa conservation would have any significant impact on depletion of the aquifer

Lack of knowledge about conservation programs available

Lack of sufficient lead time for signing up for conservation programs

Farmers/ranchers seek higher economic incentives

Tradition – most operators have been farming/grazing for generations

Target conservation programs, communications and outreach Work in small, prioritized focal areas Use local terminology Promote aquifer recharge message, then wildlife benefits Landowner Advisory Groups

Work with conservation groups to make programs more accessible and desirable Adjust existing programs Create new/supplemental programs

Maximize and promote economic incentives Minimize sense of “government entanglement”

Recommendations

Landscape Designintegrates societal values, sets biological goals, and uses sound science based in landscape ecology to provide a variety of scenario plans that describe where conservation can best be achieved and how it relates to measurable goals

Pattern, Process and Design

Acknowledges role of humans

Goal-based

Biological Planning

Farming

Inputs Past Tillage Soils, Topography, Climate

Output Likelihood of tillage in the

future

Tillage Likelihood

Drivers

Model Development

Tillage Likelihood Model

2014 Playas yield 19% of Goal

Drivers - FarmingDriversFuture

Landscape Pattern / Process

2019 Playas yield 15% of Goal

Farmed Playas lose 4% of Goal

A plan to executeA Landscape Conservation

Design

Integration with Biological Planning

Areas of high wetland density

Areas with high rates of Aquifer depletion

Opportunities to form focal areas Landowner

participation Benefit to wetland

birds and Aquifer

Questions?