Learn About Playas at Upcoming Workshop
Landowners, Master Naturalists, educators, and community members are invited to attend a Playa Field Day on Tuesday, May 21, from 9:30am to 1:00pm in Abernathy, Texas. The field day will …
For People, Not Just Wildlife
Playa Benefits
Groundwater Recharge
Playas are a primary source of groundwater recharge, with an average rate across the region of about three inches per year.
Cleaner Water
Playas are water filtration systems—keeping fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides out of the groundwater.
Recreation
Playas attract wildlife, providing local waterfowl and upland game bird hunting and wildlife viewing opportunities.
Flood Control
Playas collect runoff during high rains, reducing property damage from flooding and reducing erosion.
A Temporary Lake or Pond
What is a playa?
Playas—also called mud holes, buffalo wallows, and lagoons—are relatively small, round, shallow depressions found primarily in the western Great Plains. Their basins are lined with clay soil, which collects and holds water from rain and runoff, creating temporary lakes.
Wet-Dry Cycle is Essential
The extreme wet-dry cycle that playas experience is the lifeblood of their ecosystem. When dry, the clay soils contract and form large cracks in the bottom of the playa basin. Plant seeds and invertebrate eggs from the last wet period lay dormant in the soil, waiting for the next large rainfall to germinate and hatch. When the rain comes, the first flush of water runs into the playa and through the cracks, beginning its journey to the underlying aquifer. As the runoff continues, the clay soils expand; the cracks seal and the playa begins to fill with water. Wetland plants and invertebrates complete their life-cycle, and birds and mammals use the playa for food, water, and shelter.
Hot Spot for Wildlife
Playas are like the town square for wildlife on the plains—supporting 185 bird species, 450 plant species, 13 amphibian species, and 37 mammal species at some point during their life. In this prairie landscape, playas are the main source of water, providing much-needed rest stops and food to migrating waterfowl and shorebirds as well as resident prairie birds. Even when playas have been dry for years, within days of a big rain storm perennial plants show up and eggs hatch to become small invertebrates such as fairy shrimp, tadpole shrimp, clam shrimp, and snails. This bursting-forth of plant and animal life provides a ready feast for local and migrating birds.
Threats to Playas
The greatest continuing threat to playas is culturally-accelerated sediment accumulation from row-crop agriculture. These sediments may interfere with the shrinking and swelling of the clay layer, which is vital to aquifer recharge, and reduce playa volume and length of time a playa will hold water, which significantly affects the plant and wildlife community supported by the playa. Modifications such as pits, ditches, berms, and roads also pose a threat to playas. These modifications concentrate water in a smaller area, thus reducing suitable habitat for water-dependent birds.
What scientists say
Groundwater Recharge
Playa Lakes Joint Venture held a Playa Recharge Summit with scientists and researchers who study various aspects of playas to determine what is known about groundwater recharge through playas. Click on a photo below to read what they had to say.
Amount of Recharge
Water Quality
Direct Benefits
Clean water for the future
In their own words
Landowner Stories
Dustin McNabbLubbock County
Leave Things as God Made Them
In early 2018, Dustin helped his mother-in-law fill a large, deep pit (600’ x 50’ x 20’) in an unfarmed playa on her dryland farm through the Texas Playa Conservation Initiative. The playa sits on the front half of 80 acres, next to a highway. The family is letting the whole 80 acres go back to natural vegetation, and Dustin is managing it for upland birds.
“I’m the president of the local chapter of Quail Forever. That’s what got me started messing around out there. I’ve always been a hunter and have an affinity for quail and pheasant. So I’ve been working on restoring everything to a native habitat that’s more beneficial to those birds—and anything else that wants to roam around out there.
“Over the last few years, I’ve learned a lot about how important things are and in some cases you need to leave things the way God made ‘em—those playas being one of them. They are designed that way for a reason.
“The Texas Playa Conservation Initiative—how it’s designed, what it’s doing, the way that it’s run—is done very well and done with the best ideas at heart. It really is something I think everyone could benefit from if they would just consider allowing somebody on their property to do some work. It was a great program for us. The wildlife, vegetation, groundwater, and everything is going to benefit in the long run.”
Jan MintonFloyd County
Practice What You Preach
When Jan, a former NRCS biologist, inherited her great-grandfather’s farm in Floyd County, she knew she was going to need some help. “It’s one thing when you work for NRCS and give private landowners alternatives. You have your Volkswagen version and your Cadillac version of practices to implement in order to reach objectives. It was a whole other pack of dogs when the place was mine, I made the decisions, and everything was at risk.”
According to Jan, the property had been ‘farmed to death’ by the time she took over its management. Over the years, two playas on the 854-acre property were altered to function as tailwater pits that captured and stored water that ran off irrigated fields, with a large trench cut through the largest playa. There was also accumulated sediment that needed to be excavated and removed. With help from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, she restored the playas by filling in the pit and ditch, removing silt, and planting a buffer.
“You guys are my heros!” says Jan about the partners who helped make the playa restoration possible. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Mark HilliardHale County
Time to Do Something Different
Mark is an art professor from Plainview who also manages a 400-acre family farm. There he grows corn, cotton, wheat, and milo, and runs some stocker cattle. He also has a 76-acre playa surrounded by grass. “The nice thing about this playa is it’s never been plowed, it’s never had a big nasty tailwater pit dug in it. It’s real simple on the dirt work. It’s not been abused.”
Several years ago, Mark enrolled his playa in a Wetland Conservation Easement. “Putting it in an easement was a really easy decision on my part, even though I lost my cattle income off it ($100 a month cattle rent). By the time I pump the water and keep the electric fence hot, I’m not making any money. So it was time to do something different. There’s still opportunities to generate income through ecotourism, pheasant hunting and things of that nature.”
For landowners who are interested in restoring or protecting their playas, Mark recommends talking to a conservation partner: “Get an evaluation of the property, and see what needs to be done.”
A few facts about Texas playas
23,041
Playas in Texas
49
%
In cropland
39
%
In grassland
17
Average size (acres)
Information and Resources
Latest News
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