KDWP biologist named to head research team
PRATT -- The Playa Lake Joint Venture (PLJV) Management Board met recently in Oklahoma, and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) received the maximum funding of $25,000 from Conoco/Phillips for a new habitat grant to help purchase of additional critical wetland habitat at Herron Playa in Ford County.
Wildlife biologist Helen Hands, Great Bend, was elected chairman of the playa lake Monitoring, Evaluation, and Research Team (MERT). Hands has served on that committee for several years.

"The comprehensive KDWP playa lake report given at the meeting was by far the best state report of the six states that reported," says Joe Kramer, KDWP Fisheries and Wildlife Division director. "Our people have done a great job."

Kansas also received an additional $20,000 annually that is passed through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Region 2 to the Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams (KAWS) for playa lake grant work that indirectly benefits Kansas and Kansas playa lake areas.

The Playa Lakes Joint Venture's mission is to conserve playa lakes, other wetlands, and associated landscapes through partnerships for the benefit of birds, other wildlife and people. PLJV works in portions of six states: Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
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