The Lesser Prairie Chicken is a small, ground-nesting chicken inhabiting the grasslands of the South Great Plains.
It has been a symbol of the balance between wildlife and human use of the landscape for the last several decades.
This bird, which has a rather distinctive plumage and a curious dance it performs during the mating season, is threatened by extinction due to habitat loss, climate change, and energy development. The question on the lips of several conservationists is whether the LPC is at risk of local extirpation—or if it is still possible to recover it.
Habitat Loss: A Vanishing Home
The main factor affecting the chain of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken is the loss of habitat. Prehistorically, this organism was abundant in the large native grassland areas in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado.
However, most of these grasslands have been gradually converted to arable land or developed for the production of energy in the past century. Thus, the bird’s environment has been effectively partitioned into small, discrete patches, within which population levels cannot be sustained consistently by such species.
One of the main threats for the survival of the Lesser Prairie Chicken is the loss of its habitat since this species requires large and contiguous expanses of grasslands in which to complete its life cycle.
They need tall grass for breeding purposes, a large plain area for hunting, and striking zones, or so-called ‘leks’, for dancing. These habitats are therefore important for reproduction and survival because access to them is the only way through which the Lesser Prairie Chicken can reproduce and survive.
Climate Change: A New Threat on the Horizon
However, whereas habitat loss remains the biggest threat to the Lesser Prairie-Chicken, climate change is emerging as another threat. Some of the effects of climate change that are presently affecting grasslands and the habitat of these birds include high temperatures, changes in precipitation, and the increasing cases of severe weather conditions.
Food shortages resulting from droughts make the food several times scarce, and even water, hence declining the prospects of the adult sea birds and the chicks.
Furthermore, increased fragmentation of habitats has been believed to be worsened by climate change. Because of the changes that have taken place in climate, the regions that are more appropriate for the Lesser Prairie-Chicken will shift to the north.
Since much of the current geographic range of the bird has either been converted for other uses or is otherwise fragmented, there may not be enough contiguous grassland remaining where the species can move to and adjust.
Energy Development: Competing Interests
The southern Great Plains regions are also another area with a high emergence in energy activity especially in the development of oil, gas and wind energy technologies. On one hand, the use of renewable energy will go a long way in addressing Climate change however the establishment of wind farms and infrastructures to support them has had its impacts on Wildlife.
But for Lesser Prairie-Chicken, threats like the construction of tall structures, including wind turbines and transmission lines, pose a threat because the birds’ normal movement is affected and there is a high probability of being hunted.
Moreover, the development of oil and gas resources also have negative impacts on the ecology, for example ruining breeding, nesting grounds. Additional disturbance such as noise, traffic and human activity in the area due to energy production, also poses a greater threat to the birds hence their ability to rear their young ones.
The task of ensuring availability of energy while at the same time preserving species such as the Lesser Prairie-Chicken is quite sensitive and requires coordination between the conservationists, governments, and the energy-producing organizations.
Conservation Efforts: A Race Against Time
However, there could still be hope for the Lesser Prairie Chicken in the future since there are existing measures in place that aim for the conservation of the bird. A conservation program has been in development for several years, mainly consisting of measures to preserve and rebuild the bird’s living environment.
Such conservation projects as the above-stated Lesser Prairie Chicken Initiative that is executed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture focus on assisting private landowners in the application of practices that promote both the bird as well as the agricultural field.
This is an alarming call for protection as in 2021 the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing two populations of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken under the Endangered Species Act. Although this designation would afford the organization more resources and legal safeguards, its has raised controversy, especially in areas where energy production is a critically important industry.
Lastly, it can be stated that the survival of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken is premised on the attainability of the conceptual paradigm of rending human uses compatible with those of wildlife.
As it stands now with the current trends persisting, this famous bird could be sliced as the saying “gone with the wind.” Although, with efforts put in place in conservation as well as protecting their habitat, this bird will absolutely remain part of the great plains as it is today.
ASH CK