When Jan Minton, 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 heroes!” says Jan about the partners who helped make the playa restoration possible. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”