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Have people always used playas?
| The historical use of playas can be traced back some 40,000 years. Archeologists are able to determine information about climactic and ecological changes. Traces of pine and spruce as well as bones of mammoths, camels, horses, large bison and other extinct animals indicate parklands and savannas were once located right here in the High Plains. |
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In Lubbock, the playa lake system is utilized for the City’s drainage and flood control needs. The City playas are modified to allow for urban development. The lakes have been excavated or dredged for flood protection and excavation has become more difficult since playas have been designated as wetlands and a permit is now required. |
| The City of Lubbock Parks Department has been associated with the playa lakes for many years to provide recreation in the open spaces that remain during dry periods. These lakes provide recreational fishing for City anglers, and provide a convenient place for boating, canoeing, wind surfing, and remote control boats. Playa Park areas provide an area for picnics, church socials, ball games. |
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Are there playas in the country?
Playas are an oasis of wildlife in the midst of intensive agriculture in the plains.
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Irrigation enables farmers to transform the area’s shortgrass prairie into a pastureland for large cultivated fields of cotton and corn. Unfortunately, agricultural practices often drain the playas and leave fields with little or no vegetation cover for 6-7 months. The exposed soil can then erode in wind and rain storms. Dust storms with winds of 40-60 miles per hour are common. Technological advances after World War II made it easier for farmers to efficiently pump water for crop irrigation from the extensive Ogallala aquifer underlying the Llano. By 1977, more than 70,000 wells on the Southern High Plains tapped the Ogallala aquifer. Water collected in playas was also used for crop irrigation. However, farmers were not fond of playas at first. They were viewed as an impediment to farming. Playas were usually too wet to plow and plant crops, or if they could be plowed and planted, they later flooded and the crops were lost. Today, more than 70% of playas have been modified for use in conjunction with irrigation systems. These playas have primarily been deepened to collect and recycle irrigation water (tailwater) and reduce evaporative losses in playas. |
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Restoration programs encourage farmers to enroll some of their land in the Conservation Reserve Program and plant grass to protect the soil from erosion by wind and rain. The resulting grasslands (protected for at least 10 years) create excellent wildlife habitat and may benefit threatened and endangered species such as the black-footed ferret, the peregrine falcon, and the piping plover. |
