Contact Information

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Wildlife Division
Nongame and Rare Species Program
4200 Smith School Road
Austin, TX 78744

Staff Directory

 

Nongame and Rare Species Program:
Federal Candidate and Petitioned Species Resources

Lesser Prairie-Chicken
Tympanuchus pallidicinctus

Lesser Prairie-Chickens were once found throughout short- and mid-grass prairies in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico, but since 1998 this bird has been considered a candidate species for listing under the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service expects to publish a proposed rule in this fall that may designate the bird as a federally threatened or endangered species by fall 2013. Texas Parks and Wildlife and other State Fish and Wildlife agencies included in the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Interstate Working Group are developing a range-wide management plan for the species to further conservation of the species and address the proposed listing. This page will be updated with the latest news and developing information on the lesser prairie-chicken, the listing process and timeline, and the multi-state conservation effort.

Updates

October 12, 2012
Multi-State Group Reports Range-Wide Population Estimate For Lesser Prairie Chicken | PDF

October 3, 2012
First Ever Statistically Valid Range-wide Population Estimate for Lesser Prairie-Chicken | PDF

August 14, 2012
Lesser Prairie-Chicken Stakeholders Meeting Audio, August 10, 2012 (Click to listen)

July 27, 2012
USFWS Technical White Paper: Conservation Needs of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken | PDF

June 25, 2012
First Range-wide Lesser Prairie Chicken Aerial Survey Concluded

Conservation and Management

Presentations

Additional Resources