LESSER PRAIRIE-CHICKEN RANGE-WIDE PLAN REACHES 2.5 MILLION ACRES IN FIVE STATES, INDUSTRY ENROLLMENT PROVIDES NEARLY $15 MILLION FOR HABITAT CONSERVATION

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Approves Oil and Gas Industry Candidate Conservation

Agreement with Assurances

Private companies in five states have now enrolled more than 2.5 million acres in the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Range-wide Conservation Plan, representing oil and gas, pipelines, electric transmission and wind energy, resulting in nearly $15 million for habitat conservation over the next three years. Added to more than 1.3 million acres of oil and gas leases under conservation agreements in New Mexico, this brings the total industry commitment close to 4 million acres.

Range-wide plan enrollment now includes 14 electric transmission companies, representing most of the electric grid across the species’ range in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Also, eight oil and gas companies have enrolled more than 2 million acres across all five states. And, two wind energy developments and one natural gas pipeline company have signed on, with more in the process of enrollment.

Last Friday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it had signed a Range-wide Oil and Gas Industry Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) with the western association, under the range-wide plan developed by WAFWA and state wildlife agencies in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The service also announced an accompanying Environmental Assessment. The service has proposed listing the bird as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act, with a final determination expected by March 31.

“Under the range-wide plan, a broad coalition of government, industry, agriculture and conservation interests is demonstrating unprecedented collaboration, showing we can take care of this bird and its prairie habitat without needing to list it,” said Bill Van Pelt, Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) grassland coordinator.

“When you consider all acreage enrolled in the range-wide plan, plus various CCAAs, Farm Bill programs, and other conservation programs across the lesser prairie-chicken’s range, the total area is about the size of the states of Vermont and New Hampshire combined. This is also approximately half the size of the species’ current range. We believe this sets a record for conservation delivery on predominantly private land for a species under listing consideration.”

The range-wide CCAA provides another option for oil and gas companies, which can also enroll directly in the range-wide plan. CCAAs are prelisting conservation tools, where enrollment must occur prior to a listing decision. Unlike the CCAA, enrollment under the range-wide plan can occur at any time before or after the listing decision.

Enrolling companies get regulatory assurances through a special USFWS rule or a CCAA permit, so that if the species is listed the companies have a pathway to continue operations and development in the region. The companies agree to pay modest enrollment fees, follow a list of guidelines to minimize impacts on the bird, and agree to pay for impacts they cannot avoid. The money goes to farmers, ranchers and landowners to protect and restore habitat for the bird. 

Complementing the range-wide plan, landowner CCAAs offer legal assurances for farmers and ranchers in New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma. These cover a total of nearly 2.3 million acres across the three states. Landowners in Colorado and Kansas, who do not have access to a ranching CCAA, can enroll their lands under the RWP and receive the same assurances.

The range-wide plan includes habitat management goals and conservation practices to be applied throughout the lesser prairie-chicken’s range, guided by the Crucial Habitat Assessment Tool (CHAT) online database and mapping system.

The range-wide plan can be viewed on the WAFWA website. Industry representatives with questions about the plan may contact Sean Kyle, chairman of the Lesser Prairie Chicken Interstate Working Group, at sean.kyle@wafwa.org. Farmers, ranchers, and landowners may contact their local state fish and wildlife agency biologist to answer questions about enrollment in the plan.

PRAIRIE CHICKEN SEASON UNIQUE HUNTING OPPORTUNITY

Kansas harbors highest prairie chicken population in world

PRATT – What may be the most unique upland bird hunting opportunity in North America begins on

the third Saturday in November. The 2013 regular prairie chicken season opens Nov. 16 and runs through Jan. 31, 2014 in the Northwest and East units. It endsDec. 31, 2013 in the Southwest Unit. Kansas is home to lesser and greater prairie chickens, both iconic prairie grouse species of our Midwest grasslands.

In Kansas, the more numerous greater prairie chicken inhabits the tallgrass prairie of the Flint Hills, in east-central Kansas, and mixed grass prairies of the Smoky Hills, in northcentral and northwest Kansas. Less than 4 percent of the 400,000 square miles of tallgrass prairie that once covered North America still remain, and two-thirds of that is in the Kansas region known as the Flint Hills. This region in east-central Kansas still provides large, unbroken expanses of tallgrass prairie, thanks to the stewardship of private cattle ranchers, and a shallow layer of chert, or flint, that protects it from the plow.

The more rare lesser prairie chicken inhabits the shortgrass prairies of southwest Kansas. Because of habitat loss and population declines in four other states where lesser prairie chickens exist (Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas), Kansas is the only state where lesser prairie chickens can be hunted. In fact, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) will announce next spring whether or not the lesser prairie chicken will be added to the Threatened and Endangered Species List. To address habitat losses, wildlife agencies in the five states formed a working group that collaborated with the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies to develop a comprehensive management plan. State biologists hope the plan will dissuade the USFWS from listing the lesser prairie chicken, allowing state agencies to implement a variety of private land habitat enhancement programs designed to benefit lesser chickens.

Hunting lesser prairie chickens in Kansas has no impact on the population, and provides a truly unique upland bird hunting opportunity. The daily bag limit in the Southwest Unit is one prairie chicken per day with a possession limit of four.

Daily bag limit in the Northwest and East units is two prairie chickens per day, and the possession limit is eight. Most prairie chickens taken during the regular season are taken by pass shooting. Hunters position themselves along the edges of feed fields in the early morning or late evening hours and wait for chickens to fly in from the grasslands. Success depends on prior scouting, patience and luck. It also requires shooting skill because prairie chickens fly deceptively fast, especially with any type of tailwind.

In addition to a hunting license, unless exempt, prairie chicken hunters are required to have a $2.50 Prairie Chicken Permit. The special permit allows KDWPT to gain valuable management information from hunters who pursue prairie chickens.

The Smoky Hills region is expected to hold some of the highest densities and greatest hunting opportunities in the state for greater prairie chickens. Hunters may also find success in the Flint Hills, where reduced burning allowed for more residual grass cover for nesting compared to most years. For more details, view the 2013 Upland Bird Forecast atksoutdoors.com.

Related articles

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endorses Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Lesser Prairie-Chicken Range-Wide Conservation Plan (family-outdoors.blogspot.com)

FIVE-STATE LESSER PRAIRIE CHICKEN CONSERVATION PLAN SUBMITTED

Range-wide lesser prairie chicken conservation plan submitted to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in hopes of precluding a listing under the Endangered Species Act

PHOENIX, AZ. – The lesser prairie chicken is a grassland grouse species native and once common to parts of Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma. However, declining lesser prairie chicken populations have brought state and federal agencies together in an attempt to better manage this iconic prairie species and its habitats. The result is a comprehensive range-wide lesser prairie chicken management draft plan.

Through a multi-state collaborative effort, with funding provided by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) grant and support from the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative, the five state wildlife agencies completed the draft plan and submitted it to the USFWS. The federal agency is currently deliberating its proposal to list the lesser prairie chicken as threatened and states hope the conservation plan will influence the final decision and preclude listing, according to the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) Grassland Initiative.

The lesser prairie chicken has been considered a candidate under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) since 1998, and USFWS proposed it for listing as threatened in December 2012. A final rule for the lesser prairie chicken is scheduled to be issued September 30, 2013.

The WAFWA Grassland Initiative collaborated with the Lesser Prairie Chicken Interstate Working Group, which is composed of biologists from the five state fish and wildlife departments within the species’ range, and other partners to develop the range-wide conservation plan. This management plan describes population and habitat goals to secure the species into the future and identifies voluntary conservation programs and practices to be applied to accomplish these goals throughout the lesser prairie chicken’s range (http://kars.ku.edu/geodata/maps/sgpchat/).

"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service commends the Lesser Prairie Chicken Interstate Working Group and the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies for their tireless efforts to develop a range-wide conservation plan for the lesser prairie chicken." said Dr. Benjamin Tuggle, regional director for the USFWS’s Southwest Region. "In the next few weeks, the Service will reopen the comment period in order to allow the public the opportunity to provide additional comments on the lesser prairie chicken listing proposal and the range-wide conservation plan as it relates to the USFWS’s listing proposal."

“While we do not need a chicken on every acre, we do need to have the right acres to conserve the species,” says Bill Van Pelt, WAFWA’s Grassland Coordinator. “We feel we have created a plan under which we can partner with landowners and industry to incentivize good land management practices.”

Throughout the planning process, which started in April 2012, the state wildlife agencies have reached out to the public. The states have received feedback about two previous draft plans and are encouraged to hear the support for a state-led effort to conserve this species. Prior to finalizing the management plan, the state agencies are requesting additional public input. The Range-wide Conservation Plan for the Lesser Prairie Chicken is found onhttp://www.wafwa.org/html/rangewide_lpc_conservation_plan.shtml and the states will be accepting written comments on this third draft of the plan. Please send comments via email to janc@gci.net or by mail to Jan Caulfield Consulting, 114 S. Franklin St., Ste. 205, Juneau, AK 99801. The states are also exploring the use of webinars to reach the public. These webinars and the closing period on the comments will be announced on the WAFWA website and other media outlets.



“Historically, we saw habitat conditions like the ones we are observing now back in the 1930s, and we thought the species went extinct,” Van Pelt added. “However, it is our opinion that with existing habitat conservation programs being implemented through various Farm Bill programs and enrollments in existing conservation agreements, we are seeing lesser prairie chickens maintaining themselves on the landscape and even expanding into new areas in some parts of their range. By coordinating these existing efforts and others proposed under this range-wide plan, we are confident we will be able to conserve this species into the future. This plan is written broadly enough to allow anyone interested in conserving the lesser prairie chicken to assist the states with conserving this grassland icon.”



For more information, contact WAFWA Grassland Coordinator Bill Van Pelt at (602) 717-5066.

Related articles

• Public Input Sought on Draft Lesser Prairie Chicken Management Plan (kansas-outdoors.blogspot.com)

PUBLIC INPUT SOUGHT ON DRAFT LESSER PRAIRIE CHICKEN MANAGEMENT PLAN

Anyone interested in lesser prairie chicken management encouraged to attend

PRATT – The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) has been working with the Lesser Prairie Chicken Interstate Working Group to produce a draft Range-wide Conservation Plan for the Lesser Prairie Chicken. The plan addresses the decline of the lesser prairie chicken in Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas and Colorado and is intended to benefit the wildlife resources, people, and economies of these states by providing a framework for effective lesser prairie chicken management and habitat improvement. The ultimate goal is to increase the range-wide population of lesser prairie chickens. The draft plan emphasizes incentives and tools that encourage landowners to partner with agencies in conservation efforts while achieving their land use needs.

In December, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a proposal to list the lesser prairie chicken as a threatened species under the Endangered Species act. A final decision will be made next fall. The Interstate Working Group’s management plan could influence the USFWS’s decision if it can show that lesser prairie chicken populations can be managed at sustainable levels.

Public meetings were held in southwest Kansas in November to gain input from landowners, producers and other stakeholders as the plan was being developed. Now that a draft plan has been assembled, three additional public meetings are scheduled to continue the dialog.

March 5: WaKeeney, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., WaKeeney City Library, 610 Russell Ave.

March 6: Lakin, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., Kearny County Library, 101 E. Prairie.

March 7: Greensburg, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., Community Center (by fairgrounds), 720 N Bay.

More information about the planning process can be found at the project website: http://www.ksre.k-state.edu/p.aspx?tabid=275

Related articles

• U.s. Fish and Wildlife Service Seeks Lesser Prairie Chicken Comments (kansas-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• Assurances offered to landowners in case lesser prairie chicken gets listed as federally threatened or endangered (family-outdoors.blogspot.com)

U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE SEEKS LESSER PRAIRIE CHICKEN COMMENTS

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) will conduct a public meeting in Garden City on Thursday, February 7, 2013 to gather public comments on the proposed listing of the lesser prairie chicken. The meeting will be conducted at Garden City Community College, 801 N. Campus Drive, and will begin at 6:30 p.m.

In November, the USFWS announced it was initiating a process to consider whether the lesser prairie chicken should be recognized as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act based on scientific evidence that the species and its habitat are in decline. The USFWS will make a final determination on whether to add the lesser prairie chicken to the list based on the best available science. Members of the public and scientific community are encouraged to review and comment on the proposal during the 90-day public comment period.

The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) is participating in a five-state effort to develop a range-wide conservation plan to address the decline of the lesser prairie chicken in Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas and Colorado. The conservation plan is intended to benefit the wildlife resources, people, and economies of these states by providing a framework for effective lesser prairie chicken management and habitat improvement that will increase the range-wide population of lesser prairie chickens. The plan will emphasize incentives and tools that encourage landowners to partner with agencies in conservation efforts while achieving their land use needs.

Related articles

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces lesser prairie chicken status proposal (family-outdoors.blogspot.com)

AERIAL SURVEY TO SEARCH LESSER PRAIRIE CHICKEN RANGE

Image via Wikipedia

Helicopters will be used to search for new breeding grounds; data may help prevent endangered species listing
PRATT — Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) biologists are cooperating with the Western Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) to find new lesser prairie chicken breeding grounds, called “leks,” in western Kansas. WAFWA received funding to evaluate an aerial survey technique that can be used for uniform monitoring across the five-state range of the lesser prairie chicken.

During the survey this spring, surveyors will fly low-elevation transects in helicopters within several randomly chosen 10-square kilometer blocks throughout the lesser prairie chicken range, which includes portions of western Kansas, southeastern Colorado, western Oklahoma, north Texas, and eastern New Mexico. Field crews will train on March 29-31 in Trego County and conduct official survey work across all of western Kansas until the middle of May.

“Everyone in western Kansas is asked to be on the alert for prairie chicken leks,” says KDWPT small game coordinator Jim Pitman. “We are trying to acquire better information on the distribution and population of lesser prairie chickens to help guide an impending Endangered Species Act listing decision being developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This data, coupled with U.S. Department of Agriculture conservation efforts, provide us with the information that may help prevent listing of the lesser prairie chicken.

“If a lek is observed this spring, we are asking that it be reported to the nearest KDWPT biologist or law enforcement officer. We also have an online reporting database. This information is extremely important to the department because it will help us target conservation programs and provide site recommendations to energy developers.”

The work was contracted to Western Ecosystems Technology, Inc., of Cheyenne, Wyo., and the aerial survey protocol was developed by the Lesser Prairie Chicken Interstate Working Group, of which KDWPT is a partner.

Related articles

• Oklahoma: Slate of hunting and fishing regulation changes approved for 2012 (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)
• Kansas: TOLL-FREE PHONE HOTLINE PUTS POACHERS ON HOT SEAT (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)
• Three Kansas Deer Confirmed Positive in Early Stages of Cwd Testing (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)
• Wildlife restoration, unusual animal sightings top 2011 conservation news (missourioutdoors.blogspot.com)
• Mossy Oak Event Lures Monster Buck Poaching Suspect (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)