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One Drop at a Time with Heather Johnson · Conservation Stories

• 0:13
  Speaker A: Hello, friends, and welcome back again to another episode of conservation stories. We have here with us today, Heather Johnson. And Heather is the project coordinator for the Texas Playa Conservation Initiative program and also a migratory game bird specialist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife. Heather, thanks for joining us.
• 0:36
  Speaker B: Thanks for having me.
• 0:37
  Speaker A: Oh, Heather, thanks for joining us. Heather and I got connected through ply lake initiatives and particularly Madewell. And then now we're working closely together because we are sub grantees of an application for the global water challenge. Cargills Global Water challenge. So texan by nature, put in an application for that and won. It's a pretty big, a pretty big award. I mean, a big thing to win. I'd like for you to kind of tell us, I know you are, you're not from this area. You've lived in several other places, four parks and wildlife. And how long have you been here? You're in based in Littlefield, correct?
• 1:18
  Speaker B: Yes. So I've been in the panhandle of Texas for a little over three years now.
• 1:22
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 1:23
  Speaker B: So it's before that I was in Nebraska for almost twelve.
• 1:26
  Speaker A: Okay. So you're you, even though you weren't here where we are, you were still probably in some prairie lands.
• 1:34
  Speaker B: I was, very much so. I spent some of my time in Nebraska, in what we call the rainwater basin region, which is kind of south central Nebraska agricultural land, mostly grow corn and soybeans. And then it's also playa country. And then I also spent some time up in what we call the sandhills of Nebraska. I know we have sandhills here. There's sandhills, but they're a little bit bigger. They're about 19,000 sq. Mi.
• 1:58
  Speaker A: Wow.
• 2:00
  Speaker B: But that's our northern extent of our Ovalala aquifer.
• 2:04
  Speaker A: I am glad that you're here and I'm glad that there's an awareness of the need that we have for restoring these playas. And speaking to that need, the connection with Madewell. They did. Madewell J. Crew did a risk assessment on their cotton supply chain and they found two of the greatest risks were a place in Vietnam and then here in the Lubbock region. And that is because everybody knows we're running out of water. And they make the world's best jeans, made, well, does and denim clothes. They really cannot have us stop making cotton. They need us to be making cotton. So I would love for you to talk about what is it that Madewell understands about the playas and that maybe we don't. Even as citizens being in this area, we've just kind of. I mean, I know for myself, it hasn't been until the last two, maybe years that I've even realized that they were really as valuable as they are, especially for us around the Lubbock area.
• 3:14
  Speaker B: Exactly. So there's a realization that our playas play a very important role to our groundwater recharge. However, being that they're a non traditional wetland, they don't necessarily fall under some of the same protections that a lot of other wetland types. So we have the ability to do a little bit more manipulation. We're allowed to farm through them. We've dug pits in them, either for tailwater, the old remnant tailwater pits, irrigation or cattle ponds, livestock ponds as well. So kind of the realization by doing those modifications, we actually turn those plyos in what we call into an off situation, meaning that they're minimally or not fully recharging the aquifer like they can to their capacity.
• 4:01
  Speaker A: Right. And it's not a. It's not fast recharge. It's not like we're gonna fix this. And then in ten years, it's absolutely gonna fix everything.
• 4:12
  Speaker B: Absolutely not. I mean, we've managed to basically drain our aquifer, about 300 years worth of recharge. So that's pretty significant. You know, it doesn't. Today's rain, depending on where you are in the panhandle, it varies. It can be anywhere from ten to 50 years before it actually reaches aquifer. And then we have the other situation where the recharge is actually chasing the drop in the aquifer as well.
• 4:38
  Speaker A: Oh, yes. So it's just going further and further and further down. Right, right. But there. There are some folks that have done this, and. And I think that one of our. Maybe a common misconception is what the aquifer is like. So, you know, we've thought about it. I mean, I think maybe, you know, years ago, just naively thought of it as kind of like this lake, this big, deep ocean. And it's were just, you know, and I never, ever thought until the groundwater districts came along that, oh, this is. This is a limited resource like this. This isn't going to be here forever.
• 5:16
  Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, especially in some parts of the region. Lamb county, for example, used to be inches to reach the water table. Now it's, you know, 110, 200, depending where you're at, to actually reach the water table, like in Lamb county, for example. It was definitely thought, you know, especially in the fifties, we'd open up this wall and just pour water out. Images of that and video of that. It's pretty.
• 5:40
  Speaker A: Right.
• 5:40
  Speaker B: Pretty phenomenal. Where now maybe some, our wells are barely hopping a few gallons in a minute.
• 5:46
  Speaker A: Yes. Absolutely not. You know, even just more recently, when we began farming from Terry County, South Terry county and then moved up to Lamb county, we had a well that had, you know, 750 gallons a minute. And we were like, this is amazing. Versus southern Terry county where we had 21 wells tied together that pumped less than 200 gallons a minute. And that was in 2003. So, you know, and that 750 gallon well, it didn't do 750 gallons anymore, you know, and so. But of course, you know, our economy has been based on irrigation and so, you know, it's. It is a hard. It's a hard thing to. It feels like there's nothing you can do. But really, I think that we have this idea in mind that, like, if we can't do something that makes a quick, vast difference, that it's not worth it. But I think about, you know, how you can. You fill up a cup one drop at a time, it takes longer, but at the end, you know, you've. You've gotten somewhere.
• 6:52
  Speaker B: Yeah. You know, you kind of have to think about your aquifer like a bank account. You only get so much input every year and you can only take. You can't take out more than what goes in. So I do wanna stress that playas do recharge, and we'd like to get them obviously back to as many as we can. Back to functioning.
• 7:11
  Speaker A: Yes.
• 7:11
  Speaker B: However, it can't recharge at the rate that we're taking. Irrigating it just. We're overextending our bank account in that way.
• 7:21
  Speaker A: Right, right. So. And I know that we've had. Are having some guests on that, you know, are doing some different things and, you know, trying to make some changes to where maybe they'll be able to be more sustainable, you know, and I know that you also are part of the water development board and you do some things there. So you're very, it's not just for you about, like, you're limited in your knowledge to conservation, but you're really aware of not just statewide but regionally, the challenges that really are ahead of us.
• 7:59
  Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, you know, obviously, being a wildlife biologist, I'm going to bias a little bit towards wildlife, but I'm also looking at the big picture. It's not just about wildlife. It's about people and water. And so I have a saying where it's. When you have, you know, healthy ecosystems, healthy water, healthy wildlife, healthy people, it all is tied together. You know, we have, in wildlife, we have what we call indicator species. So certain species, when we show that they're declining or whatever, it's a very good indicator that there's something wrong in the environment.
• 8:37
  Speaker A: Yeah. And, you know, one of the things that we really think about, Lacy and I think about a lot, it's like we want to care about the value of the land and the water and those things. And those things are important because they are the basis for human flourishing. I think that main goal of why are we doing this? Because we need to be stewards of what we've been given, but also because when we do those things, we ensure the flourishing of generations that are coming after us.
• 9:15
  Speaker B: Right. Yeah.
• 9:16
  Speaker A: So I know that these, this recharge isn't, you know, we're not going to recharge as fast as we were taking out, but we. There are some places where, you know, folks, you. Maybe their water is. It's shallower, it's just not as far. So is recharging faster or also there's a county where they're have taken out, put back into grassland, and they're making some big efforts there. That's swisher county. So tell us a little bit about swisher county and what you've seen there.
• 9:46
  Speaker B: So a lot of wells have gone dry in swisher county. So there was this movement towards putting a lot of ag land back into grassland. We've also done a significant number of ply restorations in that area. So much so that their water table has now stabilized. So you're reducing irrigation, you're putting grass back in, you're changing your practices to more, you know, livestock, free range livestock. So with that, so much so that the city of Silverton is now building a whole field in swisher county. We've never been thought of 20 years ago.
• 10:25
  Speaker A: I think that that really points back to the fact that this isn't a big ocean. Like, it's not. Like, not add this one drop, it's just going to get lost in this ocean. The efforts that one county has made is benefiting that one county.
• 10:42
  Speaker B: Right. So think of our aquifer as kind of peaks and valleys. You know, it's very compartmentalized in a way. You know, if you've done any well drilling, you know that there may be water in one spot, but 100ft over, you may have nothing. Right. So when we talk about restoring, apply it on a property, we're talking about that landowner restoring the recharge of that playa on their property.
• 11:09
  Speaker A: Yes.
• 11:09
  Speaker B: And, you know, because, you know, horizontal movement is very, very slow. Vertical movements. Faster.
• 11:17
  Speaker A: It's faster.
• 11:18
  Speaker B: So that horizontal movement could take, you know, 100 years to go.
• 11:22
  Speaker A: Right.
• 11:22
  Speaker B: However many feet.
• 11:23
  Speaker A: Right. What is that horizontal movement like? So understand that vertical. But which way is it moving horizontally?
• 11:30
  Speaker B: Think about when you take a drop of water. Like when you drop on a drop of water. Kind of spreads out.
• 11:36
  Speaker A: Yes.
• 11:37
  Speaker B: Like that.
• 11:37
  Speaker A: In a sense, yes. Okay. So it's just moving out that way. Okay. So, you know, as we've talked to different producers about restoration of the playas, there's always a lot of questions about, you know, what does that mean and what, you know, why? And I think one of the benefits is pointing out is, yeah. This isn't something that you're doing right now to help somebody in Nebraska or, you know, even to help somebody five counties below you, south of you. Like, it's something. Something that, you know, you're really doing for your. Your own land and your own family in this for the future generations.
• 12:12
  Speaker B: Right. So depending on how close your neighbors are and if you're kind of your straws in the same hole.
• 12:19
  Speaker A: Yes, exactly.
• 12:20
  Speaker B: You know, you could be drawing out of each other. But, like, we have an example of a nine section piece of property. So there's protection.
• 12:26
  Speaker A: Right.
• 12:27
  Speaker B: All sides. Where those producers reduce their irrigation. Not zero, but it's reduced. He's able to basically have his own recharge and protection from my neighbor. So it's not the attitude, if I don't take it, my neighbor's gonna take it. It's not necessarily the case.
• 12:44
  Speaker A: Right. Yeah. And then that is a struggle. That is a struggle. I mean, I remember when. When that started becoming an issue. Yeah. It's really hard. So I know you've had some numbers. I don't know if you know them off the top of your head, but of how many gallons of recharge are we missing out on? Or do you know how many gallons of recharge? I know you know how many gallons we get per acre based on rain? So give us those numbers.
• 13:14
  Speaker B: So a four acre playa will do three inches of recharge. So four times three is twelve.
• 13:22
  Speaker A: Right.
• 13:22
  Speaker B: So you get an acre foot of water per four acre playa basin. So 326,000 gallons.
• 13:29
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 13:29
  Speaker B: I think we were doing some fun math the other day.
• 13:31
  Speaker A: Yes, we were.
• 13:32
  Speaker B: And I think out of non functional pliers, I think we're missing out on about 3 billion gallons, I believe.
• 13:38
  Speaker A: I think it was. It was in the billions for sure.
• 13:41
  Speaker B: Yep. Let me do some quick math real quick here.
• 13:43
  Speaker A: Yeah. Because I thought that was, you know, an important number to recognize. And we in our. Just in our little region here, we're looking at like 20,000 playas, and we've got those identified as ones that are functioning well and ones that are not functioning so great. And you can go onto the Sarah website, Sarah Dash conservation.com, or you can go to Heather's association, her initiative site, which is Playa's work for Texans, and you can see some of that, those videos that show, like, which playas are, you know, working well in the green and which ones are more in the yellow.
• 14:28
  Speaker B: So I did the math, and it came out to about 19 billion gallons.
• 14:32
  Speaker A: On a yearly basis is how much recharge we're missing out on.
• 14:35
  Speaker B: Mm hmm.
• 14:36
  Speaker A: Yeah. And is that just here, like in our.
• 14:39
  Speaker B: That's the panel panhandle. The panhandle region, about 14,000 playas are not functioning at all.
• 14:45
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 14:46
  Speaker B: And then the average size playas, 17 acres, divide that by four times 326,000.
• 14:54
  Speaker A: Right? Yes. Oh, my goodness. That's. Well, that is not unsubstantial.
• 15:01
  Speaker B: No. So if you think about how much we're losing every year just in recharge, let alone what we're extracting, significant.
• 15:17
  Speaker A: Join us on Tuesday, September 17, from 09:30 a.m. to 02:00 p.m. in Lubbock, Texas, for a critical event dedicated to the preservation of the Ogallala aquifer. Presented by Ogallala Commons with support from the Sandhill Area Research association, this event will bring together our community to discuss the challenges of our dwindling water supply and potential solutions. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit Sara dash conservation.com dot. In trying to really stress the importance of it, you know, and there's some money out there for folks that want to do these restorations of these playas. And I would love for us to talk some about that and what the benefits are. Of course we know about the recharge, but what does it look like? Let's say I have a play in. I don't know if it's working or not because I don't know what it's supposed to look like if it is working.
• 16:17
  Speaker B: Yeah. So what we call a functional, healthy playa, one has an absence of modifications, such as ditches, tailwater pits. Terracing can also be problematic. Cause it keeps water away from the plant and lack a grass buffer.
• 16:35
  Speaker A: It doesn't have grass around it.
• 16:36
  Speaker B: Right. So that's an unhealthy ply. So a healthy ply will have the absence of all those modifications, but then has at least a bare minimum, we say of 150ft of grass buffer.
• 16:46
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 16:47
  Speaker B: There's some variations in literature. Anywhere from 110 to 150ft. That's a minimum of what you need the mowers back.
• 16:57
  Speaker A: And it's important because that's what's filtering the water that's going in. That could be pulling in some sediment with it.
• 17:03
  Speaker B: Right. So that grass buffer has multiple purposes. One, it's catching sediment before it gets to the ply, so you're not covering up that clay layer. Two, it's also catching some of the agricultural or runoff contamination. The clay layer itself also what we call ionic, also acts like a filter. Think of a carbon filter that you put on your sink.
• 17:26
  Speaker A: Sure.
• 17:26
  Speaker B: That's how, you know, the grasses and the clay layer function. Kind of like a carbon filter.
• 17:31
  Speaker A: Okay. Explaining that water before it goes down into.
• 17:34
  Speaker B: Before it goes into our aquifer.
• 17:36
  Speaker A: Okay. Wow. That. So that, that really is important. And I know, like there are some NRCS programs and I mean, you're very, you are very well acquainted with programs across a wide variety of agencies that you can help people kind of get creative on how can we, you know, do this or how can we do this, but to get those playas back to where they're functioning.
• 18:02
  Speaker B: Yeah. So I'm gonna start out with my own program. So our program is called the Texas Playa Conservation Initiative. It mostly works with playas that are already in grass for the most part, but have some of those remnant tailwater pits like we see in Swisher county or agricultural pit, you know, livestock pits or ditches, whatever modification, like dirt modifications that have happened, but are kind of already in a grass situation. When you start getting into more the complex stuff like sediment removal, we can and do, do a couple of those, but they're very expensive. And I'm limited on that because I also have to fulfill like madewell or our other grants, like, I have to do so many acres of restoration. And we have x amount of dollars to do that with.
• 18:52
  Speaker A: Some of these are more expensive than others. And so you have to fit within the parameters of that grant and you want to be able to make that money go as far as possible.
• 19:01
  Speaker B: Exactly. So. However, there are also some department of Agriculture FSA NRCs type programs. One for those grass buffers is CP 23 A. It's an equip program which will pay for grass buffers, for plumbing playas. There's the wetland Reserve easement program. We actually have received one of those grants from NRCs. So now that is an easement. So there's a lot more strings attached versus my program, my Texas PCI program. The only strings tied is you can't re dig the pits and you gotta maintain your grasp offer.
• 19:40
  Speaker A: Right.
• 19:40
  Speaker B: We don't have any restrictions. But when you start getting into those federal programs.
• 19:45
  Speaker A: Yes.
• 19:46
  Speaker B: Much like, you know, CRP or anything, there's going to be a little bit more. But with those, you get an annual payment. Mine's a one time one and done. We pay for restoration.
• 19:56
  Speaker A: Right.
• 19:56
  Speaker B: And a single payment.
• 19:57
  Speaker A: Yeah. Because what those, those are more like to continue to incentivize people not to run cattle or do anything else, which would actually maybe help. Actually help the grass a little more and. But it also bring in some more money, you know.
• 20:15
  Speaker B: Right.
• 20:15
  Speaker A: So that's it. Yeah, it's kind of a. They're completely different for you. You're looking at two different kinds of outcomes.
• 20:23
  Speaker B: Yeah. So our, like, my program is a little less, I guess, intrusive, I guess, is a bit.
• 20:29
  Speaker A: Right. It's very less strength.
• 20:32
  Speaker B: It's like a couple pages contract.
• 20:35
  Speaker A: One and done.
• 20:35
  Speaker B: One and done. And we're done.
• 20:37
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 20:38
  Speaker B: You know, but then, you know, so there's some programs through nrcs, like, and then there's a new one coming out, which I'm really, really excited about. So it's already active in Kansas and a couple other states. It's called the migratory bird safe. So we have prairie safe in Texas already. Migratory bird safe is designed specifically for Playa Wetlands because FSA has programs for wetlands, but they don't work very well with our wetlands just because they're ephemeral. They dry out all the time. And the programs that are out there just don't match. They just. They're not compatible with playas and how we restore playas, how they function and so forth. So this migratory bird safe program is designed specifically for playa wetlands and their grass buffers. So this targets those ag lands where playas are being farmed through. They don't have grass buffers. There is. There could still be some modifications. Ditches, pits and those fourth. And those get restored in the process.
• 21:47
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 21:48
  Speaker B: But it is an FSA program and it works a lot like CRP with one exception.
• 21:53
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 21:53
  Speaker B: It is a reverse bid option. What that means is, is that the producer actually bids what their payment is going to be.
• 22:02
  Speaker A: Oh, interesting.
• 22:03
  Speaker B: So in that, you know, obviously you get more on irrigated lands versus non irrigated, and then they take a percentage of those, depending on what the funding is, those then get selected for that program.
• 22:17
  Speaker A: Okay. And I, you know, been saying for like a year, why don't we have some kind of program like this? And then I heard that there was something coming, so.
• 22:25
  Speaker B: Well, yeah, I mean, we had a meeting. It's probably been a little over a year now with withdeze, the Texas headquarters of FSA temple. And then that eventually went to Washington, DC.
• 22:38
  Speaker A: And then, see, that's what I mean about like, really, you know, how really does this kind of grassroots involvement really does matter? Like, here's something I'm seeing at a more of a local level to say this is a need, and I'm taking this up the, up the chain, you know, until we can, you know, get somebody to listen. And they did listen, and here we are.
• 23:00
  Speaker B: Yeah. It was previously tested, like I said, in Kansas. And so it's been a tested system, and now it's an official, like a program for FSA and NRCS. So FSA does the CRP portion of it. NRCs will do the restoration side of it.
• 23:18
  Speaker A: Sure. That's great. That is really great. If people are interested in learning more about the programs, best way to start is, is to contact, is to contact you and tell them you heard, they heard you on the podcast and they're interested. And then you can come out and take a look at stuff and just kind of see where to go from there. Yep.
• 23:37
  Speaker B: We're also adding a little bit of capacity.
• 23:40
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 23:40
  Speaker B: So Ducks Unlimited has now hired a biologist to assist with our programs. He's very knowledgeable in farm Bill and those type of programs. He originally was working as a farm bill biologist for another organization. So I will say his farm bill knowledge is probably a little better than my farm bill.
• 24:00
  Speaker A: And that's important because, because farm bill.
• 24:06
  Speaker B: Dictates, you know, how many CRP acres we can have, how different programs affect hump, not just one funding, multiple programs.
• 24:16
  Speaker A: The expert that knows, like the details of not just one agency, but multiple agencies that are funded through the farm bill.
• 24:25
  Speaker B: Right.
• 24:25
  Speaker A: So that is going to be really helpful. That's, that's great. I'm glad that that hire has happened.
• 24:32
  Speaker B: Yes. That'll be helpful. Been a hire we've been waiting for because I've definitely have hit some capacity and.
• 24:38
  Speaker A: Right. Yes.
• 24:39
  Speaker B: We want to be able to help deliver the best we can to our clients.
• 24:43
  Speaker A: Yes. Well, one of the things this is this a cost share program. What's, what is it like for farmers?
• 24:52
  Speaker B: So it works very much the same like a CRP program. So there will. There will be some cost share in grass seed and restoration and so forth. We may be what we have to be a little careful about not double dipping federal dollars. So some of my grants are federal funds.
• 25:07
  Speaker A: Right.
• 25:07
  Speaker B: But I think we're getting away a little bit from that, especially as we're getting more private donors.
• 25:13
  Speaker A: Yes.
• 25:13
  Speaker B: So there may or may not be opportunity for us to kind of help with some of that, like, restoration portion of it.
• 25:20
  Speaker A: Yeah. So, in general, the Madewell program is you get a little small stopping per acre, and. And then you do the dirt work.
• 25:32
  Speaker B: Yeah. So the Madewell program follows our exact program. In our program, the landowner gets $80, apply it. We do not pay for grass buffers, and then we cover the entire cost of the dirt work, and we actually provide the contractor for the dirt work. So once a landowner signs a contract, once my contractor is available or weather allowing, however it works, we handle all of that. The landowner doesn't have to try to exchange money or get reimbursed for anything. And then once everything's done, then we send them their $80 an acre, and that's it. I mean, it's.
• 26:07
  Speaker A: And then it's their responsibility to get that grass buffer put in.
• 26:12
  Speaker B: Yes. Sometimes we can. If we have enough acres, we can put it through another program we have.
• 26:18
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 26:18
  Speaker B: And that's called migratory. Wrong program pub.
• 26:22
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 26:22
  Speaker B: Which is pastures for upland birds.
• 26:24
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 26:24
  Speaker B: And that's through our agency, I think it is actually FSA funding, but it's. The program is executed through Texas parks and wildlife. Our district biologists can initiate that. Do the contract. It is another contract, separate contract. There are some stipulations, like, they want you to not graze it for two growing seasons just so the grass can get established and so forth, but still, like very little red tape.
• 26:50
  Speaker A: Right. Yeah. And that. I guess that's what I'm trying to say is, like, that farmers that do want to do this, landowners that are interested in this, it's not going to be a huge burden for them. So I have had one landowner mention that now I have a weed problem.
• 27:07
  Speaker B: Yes.
• 27:08
  Speaker A: So what's the solution for dealing with things like that?
• 27:13
  Speaker B: So, if you think about how soil protects itself. Well, when you disturb the soils, which we are, we're moving dirt around. You're gonna get weeds. I mean, you're. You're turning up that seed bank and it's bare soil.
• 27:27
  Speaker A: Right.
• 27:27
  Speaker B: You're gonna get weeds. We. There are ways to help counter some of that. You can plant what we call nursery crop. Most producers are gonna know what that is. Winter wheat, winter rye, so forth on top of that, and then, you know, weave in your native seeds. But you're still probably gonna get a little weedy. I mean, we've done. I've done a project in Lamb county. Yeah, the first year was pretty weedy, and it was really. It was that really dry spring. We had two years, but the next year, it was near as weedy. We started getting, you know, the native.
• 28:00
  Speaker A: Maybe it just takes time for.
• 28:02
  Speaker B: It takes time. The weeds, from a biological point of view, is the earth trying to heal itself and the soil trying to heal itself. Interesting, huh? Actually, kosher is a really good cow.
• 28:15
  Speaker A: So, yeah, it's interesting, like, just having to, like, almost change your perspective from, you know. Of course, you also like, well, yeah, but I have cotton right over here, and I don't want that weed to, like, spread over here, which is understandable, you know, they don't want those to spread into their fields. But, yeah, I think, like, changing your mindset and some about, like, you know, this is something we just have to walk through.
• 28:41
  Speaker B: I know some people that actually will bail it because it. Kosher, has a really high protein content. Think like alfalfa, you know, really interesting.
• 28:52
  Speaker A: So that's good enough.
• 28:53
  Speaker B: It can actually be pretty decent, huh?
• 28:56
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 28:56
  Speaker B: Livestock.
• 28:57
  Speaker A: Yeah. Okay. Well, anything else that you want to tell us, or is there something that you wish that the listeners would know or somebody that's interested, like, imply a lake restoration?
• 29:10
  Speaker B: So we have a website called Playa's work for Texans. So there's several links on there, has my information on there. You can email me through that, call me through that.
• 29:20
  Speaker A: All that will be in the show. Notes, links. Yep.
• 29:23
  Speaker B: So if. Even if you're just curious, I've. Sometimes it's just a phone call. You know, we have a phone conversation, and I can see quite a bit from Google Earth, but I can also do a site visit between myself and the new person coming on. We certainly can. I like to get foot on the ground. You can only see so much from satellite imagery sometimes, but usually that's just kind of how we first determine if it's even a viable project, but we can.
• 29:52
  Speaker A: That's the first step. And. Yeah, so. And we're excited to be working with you guys. We've identified about 250 playas that you feel like are really kind of viable for good, for restoration. And so some of those folks will be hearing from us.
• 30:08
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 30:08
  Speaker A: In the coming months.
• 30:10
  Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. So watch for maybe a Sarah package.
• 30:14
  Speaker A: That's right. You might watch for some swag headed your way if you're one of those 250 landowners.
• 30:20
  Speaker B: Right.
• 30:21
  Speaker A: Well, thanks for being with us, Heather. And thanks. Thanks again, listeners, for joining us for another episode of conservation Stories. We'll see you next time.