TEXAS PLAYA CONSERVATION INITIATIVE�HEATHER JOHNSON�HEATHER.JOHNSON@TPWD.TEXAS.GOV�806-475-1308

WHAT ARE PLAYAS?

• Great amounts of diversity when wet
• Plants – 350 species
• Animals
• Birds – 185 species
• Mammals – 37 species
• Amphibians – 13 species
• Invertebrates – 60+ species
• Dry periods are vital to their function

PLAYAS

PLAYAS AND GROUNDWATER

Recharge of aquifers associated with playas is slow

10-50 years

Rate of recharge through playas is 10-1000x greater than through other areas

Healthy playas ensure we put cleaner water into the aquifer

The Ogallala is compartmentalized

Water flowing through your playa benefits your wells

3” of recharge through a 4-acre playa produces 326,000 gallons of water

Enough to support a family of 4 for 2 years

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Source : PLJV

PLAYAS IN TEXAS

* Playas were mapped using mostly SSURGO and LANDSAT data; thus these figures tend to omit many small playas compared with National Wetland Inventory data used in other states (NE, KS, TX).

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THREATS

#1 existing impact today is pits

Something we can remedy easily, quickly

#1 continuing threat is sediment accumulation

Not so easy..

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TXPCI PROGRAM

• Partnership created in 2015
• Pit backfilling in grass buffered playas and/or grass buffer plantings
• Producer / landowner friendly program
• TxPCI pays 100% cost of restoration
• We hire and pay the contractor directly
• Pay one-time incentive payment ($80/acre)
• 10-year agreement attached – prevents future pit creation

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TXPCI – HOW WE OPERATE

• Use satellite imagery to ID potential projects
• Collect landowner contact information
• Mail informational flyers
• Make site visits and produce a contract for interested parties
• Fix the playa

SUCCESS AND PROGRESS

• 83 restoration projects completed
• 3,425 playa and saline lake acres restored + equal amount of surrounding grassland buffer.
• 243 Million Gallons of clean, groundwater recharge annually.
• 20 of these projects (609 acres) within the last year
• Committed $223,000 directly to landowners as incentive payments
• Additional 62 acres in queue

SUCCESS AND PROGRESS

This slide shows a restored playa in the foreground and one with a pit further back. Observe how the water spreads out in the restored playa vs collected in a pit.

LANDSCAPE �IMPACT

Project Density

Acreage Density

PARTNERSHIPS

FUNDING SOURCES

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• Texas Migratory Game Bird Stamp Funds: $100K annually since 2017

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• NAWCA Grants
• Phase 1, 2017-2020: $100K
• Phase 2, 2020-2022, $100K
• Phase 3, Current: $100K

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• Ducks Unlimited
• DU NFWF, 2020: $37K
• 2017-2020: $8K
• 2020-2022: $42K
• DU Current: $10K
• DU Phillips 66, Current: $35K
• DU Apex Wind, Current $40K

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• Ørsted Wind, Current: $100K

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• Dallas Safari Club Current: $8K

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• Pending
• HPWD research grant partnered with WTAMU: $35K
• PGCD outreach and project funding: $TBD
• JCrew/Madewell: $40K
• NRCS WREP 1.5 M

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• Past Total $887K

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• Current Total $393K

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• Pending Total $2.25 M+

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

Playa field days

Targeted mailings to landowners

INTO THE FUTURE

�Water security is �national security, �community security.

We will protect �our water through easements and water protection zones.

�—David Lansford, Clovis Mayor

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Clovis, NM

Groundwater success story

Partnerships with municipalities key

www.playaestimators.com

SUCCESS STORY

2022 Recipient

SUCCESS STORY

• (182) LSLS - Tierra de Esperanza 5-12-22 PREVIEW - YouTube

SALINE WETLANDS

SALINE WETLANDS

• Associated with the Ogallala Formation
• Soils: High Lime, Salty Bottomland, Wet Saline Ecological Sites
• Both ground and rainwater fed.
• Often see a “Salty Crust”.

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SALINE WETLANDS

• Saline Wetlands exist throughout the Ogallala aquifer.
• In Texas, they are primarily in the western portion of the South Plains Region.

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SALINE WETLANDS: VEGETATION

• Vegetation typically spars.
• Few common Species :
• Sporobolus airoides (alkali sacaton), 
• Distichlis spicata (saltgrass), 
• Hordeum jubatum (foxtail barley), 
• Sporobolus pyramidatus (whorled dropseed), 
• Schoenoplectus spp. (bulrushes), 
• Suaeda suffrutescens (desert seepweed), 
• Allenrolfea occidentalis (pickle-weed), 
• Salsola tragus (prickly Russian thistle),
• Bassia scoparia (kochia).
• Atriplex canescens (four-wing saltbush) 
• Prosopis glandulosa (honey mesquite) 

SALINE WETLANDS: THREATS

• Salt Cedar.
• Choke out native vegetation.
• Long tap roots.
• Monopolizes on limited water recourses.
• Each bush consumes about 200 gallons of water a day.
• Dries up spring to the wetland.
• Little nutrition value for wildlife.
• Increases intensity of flooding and fires.

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Take-homes

#1

Playas are a major source of recharge to aquifer

#2

Recharge cannot make up for losses from irrigation

#3

It is enough to support rain-fed systems, grazing operations and municipalities

#4

If you conserve a playa, that water is yours

#5

Healthy playas with buffers improve YOUR water quality

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�We have mixed emotions �about playas. �But, on most days, �we're thankful for them. 

These playas offer a lot of private benefits— aesthetic and recreational value, �improved water quality, �as well as aquifer recharge.

�—Vance & Louise Ehmke, Farmers, Lane County KS

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“A rising tide lifts all boats”

PlayasWorkForTexans.com