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Playa: It’s an unusual word. But it’s a word that holds great importance for Nebraska wildlife and agriculture.

A playa is a low spot in the landscape, with an impermeable clay layer underneath, that becomes an intermittent wetland after a substantial rain or snow.

These Nebraska wetlands are a significant part of the ecology for migratory birds such as ducks and geese. Playas are important, too, for resident wildlife such as pheasants and the (endangered) whooping crane.

Nebraska has two playa wetland regions — one stretching across much of south-central Nebraska and a smaller one centered on Custer County, right in the state’s midsection.

A variety of Nebraska organizations, companies and individuals have worked together for years in ongoing efforts to safeguard Nebraska’s playas. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is lending its support through the recent announcement of a $3.2 million grant for protection of 900 acres of Nebraska playas.

Those funds are part of a total of $44 million in USDA grants to 12 states for wetland preservation. Iowa is receiving $3 million to support its Iowa-Cedar Rivers Headwaters Wetland Initiative.