When the Texas Playa Conservation Initiative launched, Norman Burge was one of the first to get involved. Managing land in both Floyd County, Texas, and Curry County, New Mexico, he wanted better habitat for game birds and quickly saw how restoring a playa could help.
Because his acres have been in CRP for decades, the restoration didn’t change his daily operation. But filling a long-standing pit helped him understand how playas actually work — not as leaky bowls, but as natural recharge points feeding the aquifer.
Norman has seen Texas’ irrigation history shift dramatically, from roaring pumps in the 1960s to quiet, dry fields today. Windmills on his own land no longer produce water.
Restoring a playa won’t fix everything, he says, but it’s something he can do. “For me, it’s just doing my part.”
Through small but meaningful restoration efforts, Norman Burge is helping support water, wildlife, and the long-term future of the High Plains.