LESSER PRAIRIE-CHICKEN CONSERVATION WORKSHOP IN LAMAR
LESSER PRAIRIE-CHICKEN CONSERVATION WORKSHOP IN LAMAR
LAMAR, Colo. – Conservation of lesser prairie-chickens will be the subject of a workshop at the Division of Wildlife Office in Lamar Nov. 12, from 4-8 p.m.
The workshop is open to anyone interested lesser prairie-chicken conservation.
"Local citizens interested in lesser prairie-chicken management will be briefed on preservation options and the identification of specific management actions that will be most effective at the local level," said Seth McClean, a wildlife conservation biologist with the DOW.
"By working with local stakeholders we can discuss cooperative conservation solutions and develop a workable and effective management plan," said McClean.
"The DOW has identified some potential strategies that might be implemented in partnership with local landowners, land managers, and other stakeholders," said Eric Odell, the Grasslands Species Conservation Coordinator for the DOW. "However," he added, "the agency would like to meet with any affected stakeholders to gather comments and answer questions before we proceed with final development of the management plan."
"Conservation strategies are the core of any recovery plan. We are focusing on strategies intended to reverse the current decline of lesser prairie-chickens," Odell said. "We hope to protect the remaining birds we have left and to create habitat conditions that will allow populations to recover."
Lesser prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) are a native grassland grouse species that are about the same size as domestic chickens. Lesser prairie-chickens prefer sandy grassland areas that have an abundance of midgrasses, sandsage, and yucca. They currently occupy grasslands in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas, and Colorado. Biologists estimate there are fewer than 40,000 breeding birds left range-wide.
Although lesser prairie-chickens were widely distributed throughout southeast Colorado prior to European settlement, the bird’s occupied range is much smaller today. The state officially lists the lesser prairie-chicken as "threatened" in Colorado.
Recent counts estimate there are fewer than 300 breeding birds remaining in the state. Most of the remaining lesser prairie-chickens are on private ranches in the extreme southeastern corner of Colorado, and on the Comanche National Grassland near Campo.
As with the other prairie grouse species, scientists attribute population declines to the conversion of undisturbed open prairies to agricultural and other human use.
The DOW office in Lamar is located at 2500 S. Main St.
Anyone interested in participating should contact Mike Smith at (719)336-6606 or (michael.smith@state.co.us).
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For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.
