Lesser Prairie Chicken Conservation

Since 2014 the Lesser Prairie Chicken has been on a roller coaster of Endangered Species listing decisions. Over the past decade the bird has been listed and delisted twice, while continuing to decline across its range. The main driver of these declines are habitat loss to row crop expansion, improper grazing and energy development. All of which are preventable when industry, advocates, and ranchers work together to steward the landscape. 

At Audubon Southwest we work directly with industry and agencies to improve siting decision and project designs to avoid or minimize negative effects to the chicken’s habitat while continuing to advocate for the extension of endangered species protections to the bird and other policies at the state and federal level that improve rangeland health to benefit declining grassland bird species.