Welcome to the Playa Conservation Course

Darryl Birkenfeld

Darryl Birkenfeld completed a Ph.D. in social ethics from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California in 2002. Later that same year, he began work as an Ogallala Commons (OC) contractor and has served as the organization’s Executive Director since 2003. Darryl and his wife Joann live in Nazareth, Texas. On Jan.1, 2023, Darryl transitioned to OC Deputy Director and Stewarding Natural Resource Program Director. He continues to advocate for playas through education and hosting Playa Field Days located at the free outdoor educational classroom in Nazareth, Texas.

David Haukos

David Haukos is currently the Unit Leader of the Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Kansas State University. Previously, he was the Regional Migratory Management Specialist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. David developed a deep appreciation and strong connection with playa wetlands during nearly 3 decades researching, managing, and educating others on playas in the Southern High Plains of Texas and New Mexico.

His contributions to this course can be found in Modules: 1 & 3.

Robert Martin

Robert Martin grew up in Curry County, NM, and lives in Santa Fe where he is a partner in a ranch real estate company. Robert holds a master’s degree in biology from Eastern New Mexico University, and contracts with OC as a Stewardship Educator, conducting a dozen Playa and River Festivals each annually.

His contributions to this course can be found in Module: 2.

Julie Hodges

Julie Hodges is Helen DeVitt Jones Director of Education at the National Ranching Heritage Center at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX.

Her contributions to this course can be found in Module: 2.

Jim Steiert

Jim Steiert is a 50-year veteran news, agriculture and outdoor journalist, and the author of Playas: Jewels of the Plains. He received the Leadership Legacy Award as a longtime Deaf Smith County 4-H leader. He has won numerous Craftsmanship Awards as a member of the Texas Outdoor Writers Association for his books, columns and articles on outdoor topics. A Certified Texas Master Naturalist, he serves as the Environmental Representative to the Region O (Llano Estacado) Regional Water Planning Group. He is a long-time presenter on playas for Playa Festivals and Aquifer Field Days staged by Ogallala Commons.

His contributions to this course can be found in Modules: 2 & 3.

Dr. Nancy McIntyre

I am Professor of Biological Sciences and the Curator of Birds at Texas Tech University. My primary research area is in landscape ecology (the study of how environmental patterns affect ecological processes); I use geospatial analytics to address the ecological consequences of human land use/land cover change. My research has focused on how playas collectively function as an ecological network and how land use/land cover change is disrupting structural and functional connectivity within that network for a variety of wildlife species (mainly birds and dragonflies).

Her contributions to this course can be found in Module: 2.

Justin Trammell

Raised on a small farm north-east of Canyon, Texas. Justin attended West Texas A&M University where he got his degree in Wildlife Biology. In 2012 he began to work with Ogallala Commons educating 4th and 5th graders as well as high school students about playa lakes. He is currently in the process of developing a sustainable agriculture operation that will be used as a platform to educate learners grades 1-12, local FFA's, college students, local landowners, and anyone who is interested in learning more about sustainable agriculture, the land, water, and natural systems inherent in the Texas Panhandle. He also works in conjunction with local NGO's in education about the land as well as non-traditional options for marketing agriculture products such as CSA's (Community supported agriculture) systems and farmer markets.

His contributions to this course can be found in Module: 2.

Joanne Toler

I am a Certified Texas Master Naturalist. Since 2006 I have been studying and documenting plants of the Texas Panhandle. Plants are my passion and though I have no higher education in scientific subjects, I am self-taught in my knowledge of plants. I have been Training Director for our Amarillo Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists and a Past President of the Amarillo Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas. I have taught plant classes, given presentations to various civic groups and led hikes. When doing so, I use common names in the hope they are easier to remember than a binomial they can’t spell or pronounce.

Her contributions to this course can be found in Module: 3.

Heather Johnson

Heather M. Johnson currently works at the Texas Parks and Wildlife as a Migratory Game Bird Specialist. Heather does research in Wildlife Ecology, habitat rehabilitation, and migratory game bird management. Her current project is restoring and preserving playa lakes in the Texas Panhandle.

Her contributions to this course can be found in Modules: 4 & 5.

Mike Carter

Mike is continually looking at big picture solutions, whether that involves expanding bird priorities, keeping native grasslands, or working with farmers to conserve the Ogallala aquifer. He believes people play a key role in bird conservation and has been viewing playa conservation through that lens since he became the PLJV Coordinator in 2001. After returning from the Peace Corps in 1988, Mike founded the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (now Bird Conservancy of the Rockies) and continued working as executive director for 14 years.

His contributions to this course can be found in Module: 4.

Miruh Hamend

During her 32-year career, Miruh has worked for a wide variety of healthcare and nonprofit organizations. But what truly excites her is using her creative skills to do something that helps create a better world. At PLJV, she crafts messages and tells stories with the intent of moving people to take action and create a landscape where both wildlife and people can thrive.

Her contributions to this course can be found in Module: 4.