PLJV Communications & Education Overview

1. PLJV Communications & Education Overview • Landscape • Structure • Strategic Plans • Tools • Evaluation

2. Landscape: People • Rural, sparsely populated • Agriculture-based • 95 percent privately owned • Absentee ownership • Economically depressed communities • Aging – average age of farmer 55-60 • Out-migration of youth • Shifting demographics • DIY mentality • Strong community bonds • Distrust of outsiders/gov

3. Landscape: Land cover • Short and mixed-grass prairie • 60,000 playas • Rivers and streams – intermittent • Some Pine ridge/woodlands • Unpredictable weather – high and dry • ~12 million acres of CRP • Agricultural fields – wheat, corn, cotton, soy • Cattle ranches

4. Landscape: Conservation Issues • Ogallala Aquifer depletion • 70+ percent of playas altered • 50+ percent of playas filled with sediment • Invasive species • Declining bird populations – LEPC, NOPI, LETE, MOPL • Prairie fragmentation • Energy development • Agricultural impacts

5. Structure • 1 full time staff: Communications Team Leader • Education and Outreach Team • Currently 11 members from 8 orgs • Local Conservation Partnerships (LCPs) • Grassroots alliances • Landowners, resource managers, conservation orgs, community leaders • “Mini-JVs” • PLJV staff communicates regionally • EOT and LCPs communicate state/locally/nationally

6. Strategic Plans PLJV Master Plan: • Created in 2002 • Communications and Education are core elements • Updated annually • Establishes Measures for Success PLJV ELEMENTS

7. Strategic Plan: Communications • Identify target audiences • Landowners, resource managers, media • Identify key messages • Recharge, economics, cooperative conservation, what are playas? • Create appropriate comm. products • Review audiences and messages annually • Track and evaluate success

8. Strategic Plan: Education • Identify target audiences • Landowners, resource managers, teachers, students, education orgs • Identify and publicize existing resources • Support development of new resources • Largely partner-driven • Most accomplished through PLJV grants

9. What Goes OUT Web site Monthly Playa Post Fact sheets Weekly radio show Playa film News releases Media kit Display unit Photos Educator Resource Guide Tools: Comm & Edu What Comes IN • Editorial calendar • Contacts database • Grants program • Survey results • Web site tracking • Media coverage tracking • EOT input • Partner/LCP input • PLJV staff input • Media relations

10. Usage tracking: # web site hits # media coverage # of products distributed # PPost subscribers # of target audiences reached # films distributed Ultimate Measure of Success: change in knowledge, attitudes and behavior Ultimate Measure Techniques: High Plains Landowner Survey Post-film Survey Evaluation

11. Evaluation • High Plains Landowner Survey: • 74 percent of playa landowners willing to conserve playas/wetlands. • 50 percent don’t know playas recharge the aquifer. • 68 percent say wildlife is #1 benefit of playas • Post-film survey: • Doubled playa awareness (50 percent aware vs. 98 percent) • Tripled concern for playas (24 percent say playas are threatened vs. 72 percent)

12. Evaluation Correlating to Biological planning:If 74 percent of all playa landowners in BCR 18 Texas conserved their playas Area would support: • 26% of goal for shorebirds in total non-breeding seasons • 64% of goal for waterfowl in total non-breeding seasons