The Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GPLCC) Steering Committee and Science Committee met recently in Lubbock, Texas to build on the GPLCC's efforts to provide science in support of conservation in the region. In previous meetings, the Steering Committee identified lesser prairie-chickens, prairie rivers and streams, and playa lakes as the highest priorities for additional information. Earlier this year, the GPLCC Science Committee used those priorities to outline specific science needs related to lesser prairie-chickens and prairie fish ecology. GPLCC staff worked closely with the Wildlife Management Institute (WMI) to develop project grants to fulfill those science needs and with projects underway will be moving into assessing science needs for playa lakes conservation.

The initial science projects focused on lesser prairie-chickens and prairie fish ecology are moving forward utilizing grants administered by WMI. One project will develop a spatial targeting tool to support improved conservation delivery for lesser prairie-chickens. In addition, the GPLCC is coordinating multi-agency collaboration to develop a rangewide conservation strategy for the birds. Another project is documenting the historic and current habitat use by Arkansas River Shiner and predicting habitat change under future climate scenarios. Finally, the GPLCC is identifying conservation priorities for Great Plains fish communities based on riverscape connectivity and genetic integrity of populations.

With the first round of projects moving forward, the meeting in Texas provided the committees with the opportunity to hear about the complexity and critical ecological role playa lakes play in the Great Plains. Dr. Dave Haukos, leader of the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Kansas State University, explained why these ephemeral wetlands are critical to resident amphibian species and how they serve as vital staging areas for millions of waterfowl, wetland and shorebirds as they pass through the Great Plains. Playa wetlands also serve an important role in recharging aquifers.

The committees also heard from representatives of the Playa Lakes Joint Venture about their recently developed list of information needs related to playas. Subsequent discussion led the committees to recognize four key interests that provide a framework for developing specific playa science needs: wildlife, economic activity, aquifer recharge and ecosystem function. Based on this, the GPLCC Steering Committee charged the Science Committee with generating projects that will answer the basic question, "How can conservation programs and policies be more effective in conserving playas for the key interests?"

Over the next two months the Science Committee will develop recommendations for the Steering Committee regarding both specific science needs as well as how those needs can best be filled. The Steering Committee will review the recommendations of the Science Committee before the end of the year to set the stage for an anticipated new round of grants offered by WMI on behalf of the GPLCC in early 2013.(cs)