[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/EW-12-30-13-Prairie-Chickens.mp3|titles=EW 12-30-13 Prairie Chickens]
The protection of a bird called the lesser prairie chicken has inspired intense debate in Texas – between the government, environmentalists, oil and gas companies, and private landowners.
It’s proven to be a bad year for the lesser prairie chicken. U.S. populations have plummeted from 34,000 to 17,000 birds. And conservation efforts are complicated by the fact that the chicken’s roaming grounds are largely on private property.
The lesser prairie chicken is thought to primarily inhabit three million acres in West Texas and the Texas Panhandle. Much of this land is owned by cattle ranchers, many of whom lease acreage to oil and gas companies.
So when it comes to plans to conserve the species, there are many stakeholders. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to decide by March whether to list the lesser prairie chicken as threatened. If they do, property owners could be held responsible if any of the birds are harmed on their land.
Multiple plans have been proposed to protect both the chickens and stakeholder interests. One, the Range-wide Plan, would involve oil and gas companies paying a fee to landowners to maintain safe habitat on their land, with the goal of quadrupling the bird’s population. Another plan is similar but would put a private foundation in charge, rather than the government.
On the upside, prairie chicken and cattle thrive on the same type of land, and the sustainable ranching practices outlined in the plans could be mutually beneficial. If landowners can come together with the government and environmentalists, there is hope for the lesser prairie chicken to rebound.
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Web Links
It’s Not the Rare Birds They Mind So Much. It’s the Watchdogs.
Lesser Prairie-Chicken
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/lesserprairiechicken/
Photo, taken on January 24, 2012, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture & NRCS via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY.