Playa Health: The Importance of Buffers

Credit Texas Parks and Wildlife

Research indicates that a buffer surrounding a playa lake, consisting typically of native grasses and forbs, prevents migration of upland topsoil and farm chemicals into lowland wetlands such as playa lakes and rainwater basins.

The buffers are important to rangeland playas, but are vital when playas are situated in fields under crop production.

PARTICIPANTS:

Tom Flowers
NRCS District Conservationist (ret.)
Meade, KS

Bill Johnson
Biologist
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Canyon, TX

Ted LaGrange
Wetland Program Manager
Nebraska Game & Parks Commission
Lincoln, NE

Jerry Miller
Farm Bill Biologist
Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever
Sterling, CO