Lesser Prairie Chicken

A new guide, produced through a partnership between public university extension programs in the Great Plains, the USDA-NRCS’s Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW), the USDA-NRCS’s Central National Technology Support Center (CNTSC), and various other conservation partners, provides the first-ever framework for addressing woody encroachment, now recognized as one of the top two drivers of grassland loss in the Great Plains.

Through Working Lands for Wildlife —a voluntary, incentive-based effort—the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and its conservation partners will provide landowners with technical and financial assistance to: Restore populations of declining wildlife species.

The population of lesser prairie chickens has declined 90% from its highest levels. This study investigates the role that land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) may play in helping the species.

Sagebrush rangelands once covered nearly 250 million acres in western North America. Today, this landscape has been reduced to half its original size and is rapidly shrinking.

Rural Americans matter—a lot—to the fate of U.S. environmental policy. Not only do farmers, ranchers, and forest owners manage huge portions of American lands and watersheds, but rural voters also have an outsized impact on national policy.

For many years the Service has worked with partners to help them develop Candidate Conservation Agreements (CCAs). CCAs primarily have been developed by Federal agencies to cover Federal lands, and several have resulted in conservation efforts that made listing unnecessary.

In addition to the Colorado credit, landowners can receive an extra reward for conserving their land with a conservation easement. The current rules are not yet permanent, so please keep that in mind as you and your advisors make plans for your taxes.

This guide is meant to help you understand the steps that must be completed to conserve your property and the typical costs that are involved.

By donating a conservation easement, you are eligible not only for an immediate financial reward from state tax credits and federal deductions, but you can also save money on estate taxes for generations to come.

Now that you’ve received your tax credit certificate, you must decide what to do with your credits. You have several choices: Use it to pay your Colorado income tax.

A diversity of habitats is required throughout the lifecycle of the prairie-chicken to provide food and shelter. Planting to improve lesser prairie-chicken habitat requires not only the correct species of grasses, wildflowers, and shrubs, but, also the selections which have proven success or which are locally adapted.

“The prairie has to have fire or it’s going to be gone—we’re going to lose it to the encroachment of trees.” Those are the words of rancher Ed Koger of southwest Kansas.

The structural attributes of shrubland communities may provide thermal refugia and protective cover necessary for wild animals to survive. During the summers of 2002 and 2003, we evaluated the thermal environment for lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus Ridgway) broods in southeast New Mexico across a complex landscape that included grazed sand shinnery oak (Quercus havardii Rydb.) ...

Proper management of grasslands and shrublands requires an understanding of the factors that influence the persistence of organisms. We compare differences in vegetation between sites occupied by the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) and random sites to investigate composition of grasses and forbs and the importance of cover.

This guide has been produced by and for landowners and practitioners constructively engaged in one of the greatest conservation challenges of our time—how to share and manage a wild, working landscape that sustains both people and wildlife.

This paper analyzes surveys of private landowners to identify factors that determine landowner engagement in the conservation of endangered species.

The Western Governors’ Species Conservation and Endangered Species Act Initiative was launched by WGA Chairman and Wyoming Gov.

We also learn what types of environments are best to invite the prairie chickens to nest in.

Learn about how a Texas landowner is using a CCAA to protect Lesser Prairie Chicken by following habitat guidelines. Produced by Larry Lemmons for KVII-TV.

In 2014, a new era in wildlife conservation was ushered in with the implementation of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken (LPC) Range-wide Conservation Plan (Van Pelt et al.

This third edition of this manual (formerly entitled Sharing Your Land With Shortgrass Prairie Birds) is about how to help birds and other wildlife make a living from the land while you do the same.

The information in this guide is designed to guide you in creating and maintaining habitat for 13 bird species of the shortgrass prairie, birds that are in need of conservation efforts.

This conservation strategy combines the five locally-developed state plans into a single comprehensive commitment to lesser prairie-chicken conservation.

This document is the 2015 Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) progress report for the comprehensive conservation plan for the lesser prairie-chicken (LPC) titled The Lesser Prairie-Chicken Range-wide Conservation Plan (RWP).

The 2014 Farm Bill Field Guide to Fish and Wildlife Conservation was prepared as an introduction for fish and wildlife conservation providers – the on-the-ground biologists and conservation partners who help deliver Farm Bill conservation programs to landowners.

This Grassland Conservation Plan for Prairie Grouse, coordinated by the North American Grouse Partnership, represents the collective efforts and expertise of numerous grassland and prairie grouse experts in developing habitat prioritizations that are needed to sustain grouse and other grassland species into the future.

On April 10, 2014, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published a final rule in which FWS listed the lesser prairie-chicken (LPC) as a threatened species.

Lesser prairie-chickens and greater sage-grouse depend on large prairie and steppe landscapes shared by agricultural producers, primarily ranching operations.

The Guide to Environmental Markets for Farmers and Ranchers, produced by the American Farmland Trust (AFT), provides an overview of available market opportunities for environmental credits and services, how farmers and ranchers can get involved in them, and ways to encourage their continued growth.

This document provides guidance on the establishment, use, and operation of conservation banks for the purpose of providing a tool for offset mitigating adverse impacts to species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended.

Recent studies have estimated that the Lesser Prairie Chicken’s population has declined by 50% in the last year, mostly due to changing land use and drought.

Private landowners have stepped up to the plate and enrolled an unprecedented amount of acres in conservation programs to conserve and restore Lesser Prairie Chicken habitat.

This document is a comprehensive range-wide conservation plan (RWP) for the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus; hereafter LPC).

Abstract.—Prescribed burning is used for many silvicultural and wildlife management objectives. However, the use of prescribed burning can be constrained due to difficulties in obtaining burning permits, concerns about liability, potential effects of scorch on growth and survival of crop trees, its sometimes ineffective results, limited burning days, and the costs of applying, controlling, and monitoring burns.

The Playa Lakes Joint Venture conducted an assessment of the effects of landscape attributes related to land cover and USDA conservation programs on the presence and density of lesser prairie-chicken leks.

Proposed rule; revision and reopening of comment period.

Lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) ECOS profile.

The goal of the protocol is to consistently monitor trend in vegetation structure on individual properties voluntarily applying management under initiative contract.

These guidelines provide a synopsis of our current knowledge of lesser prairie-chicken habitat requirements and suggest management strategies to monitor, maintain, and enhance lesser prairie-chicken populations.

In 2003, a multi-agency effort initiated the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) to quantify environmental benefits of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Wetland Reserve Program (WRP), and Environmental Quality Improvement Program (EQIP).

This is the final 4(d) rule that accompanied the listing decision for the Lesser Prairie Chicken. It outlines the exceptions to the Endangered Species Act 'take' prohibition.

Thirty-two private companies in five states representing oil and gas, pipelines, electric transmission and wind energy have committed to enroll more than 3.6 ...

This Press Release announces the listing of the Lesser Prairie Chicken as a threatened species and describes the special rule that exempts landowners enrolled in certain conservation programs from the ESA provision prohibiting take of the species.

This updated Executive Summary of WAFWA's Range-wide Conservation Plan for the Lesser Prairie Chicken outlines the WAFWA Mitigation System, the Plan Administration (including committee composition), and current implementation status.

This Range-Wide Oil and Gas Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) for the LPC represents a collaborative effort between the FWS, the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA), WAFWA’s Foundation for Western Fish and Wildlife (FWFW), interested oil and gas companies, and trade associations.

The purpose of the range-wide plan (RWP) for the lesser prairie-chicken (LPC) is to identify a conservation strategy that will ensure the long-term existence of the species at sustainable levels when fully implemented.

The Lesser Prairie-Chicken Management Plan will be the foundational document to direct conservation efforts in New Mexico. The goal of the plan, developed by the Division of Wildlife, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, is to satisfy the public’s lesser prairie-chicken related recreational and ecological interests and resolve related socioeconomic issues.

This Candidate Conservation Agreement (CCA) is a voluntary agreement to facilitate cooperation of the oil and gas industry, livestock producers, and other interested stakeholders in providing conservation benefits to the LPC and SDL.

This U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Technical White Paper (July 2012) is a synopsis of ideas for long term conservation and recovery of the LPC.

This fact sheet provides a good overview of the LPC and voluntary conservation measure that can be taken to maintain or enhance LPC habitat.

This document describes the different habitat requiremenst of the LPC. It includes descriptions of nesting habitat, brood-rearing habitat, fall/winter habitat, LEPC diet, and predators/diseases.

This conference report by the US Fish and Wildlife Service explains the NRCS's LPCI and associated procedures, conservation practices, and conservation measures.

This short brochure explains the Lesser Prairie Chicken Initiative (LPCI), including the goals and implementation of the program.

This booklet provides information for citizen stewards and landowners, who embody President Bush’s vision of cooperative conservation—a vision built upon innovation, local ideas, inspiration and incentives, and on-the-ground action.

A range-wide sampling framework and survey method is being developed to estimate total abundance of active leks for the population of LPC. In addition, standard operating procedures are being developed for aerial surveys and ground truthing surveys.

The determination of whether to list the species as threatened or endangered will depend on the full assessment of the status of the lesser prairie-chicken in light of the five ESA listing factors: 1.

This PowerPoint outlines how to use the Southern Great Plains CHAT: A decision support system for the Lesser Prairie Chicken.

This is an excerpt from the Western Assocation of Fish and Wildlife Agencies' LPC Range-wide Conservation Plan, which depicts the LPC background and life history.

The overall distribution of the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) has declined an estimated 92 percent since settlement by people of European descent and an estimated 78 percent since the early 1960s.