North American Grouse Partnership
Source: www.uplandalmanac.com
Published: Sep. 05, 2008
Tucked away in pieces and pockets of prairie in five states in the Southwest, the lesser prairie-chicken sometimes seems to dwell in the publicity shadow of its larger cousins, the sage grouse, the sharptail and the greater prairie-chicken.
Locally, though, the lesser chicken is a strong focus for a lot of people, both private landowners and public agency personnel.
Before European settlement of the Southwest, lesser prairie-chickens were found as far east as Ft. Worth, north through western Oklahoma and southwest Kansas, west into the very southeast corner of Colorado, and south into New Mexico, east of the Pecos River.
Lesser prairie-chickens are resilient creatures, living in close quarters with people on the prairie since before anyone can remember. But, as is happening with other prairie grouse, the last few decades have seen agricultural, energy, and other human development activities sweep across their habitat at a pace and scale that makes it hard for them to cope.
Current populations of lesser prairie-chickens make a living on about 10 percent of their former range. The threats to lesser chickens are severe enough that they have been designated as a "Candidate" species for inclusion on the Endangered Species List.
Landscape managers of all stripes are working hard to understand and deal with these threats.
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