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
- Lesser Prairie-Chicken Advisory Committee Recommendations | PDF
- Lesser Prairie-Chicken Endangered Species Act Listing Process Information
- Southern Great Plains Crucial Habitat Assessment Tool
- TPWD and USFWS Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) for Lesser Prairie-Chickens | PDF
- TPWD Lesser Prairie-Chicken Wildlife Management Plan | PDF
Presentations
- Range-wide Lesser Prairie-Chicken Management Plan (TPWD) | PDF
- Lesser Prairie-Chicken: Conservation Priority (USFWS) | PDF
Additional Resources
- The Dorothy Marcille Wood Foundation: Lesser Prairie Chicken
- Lesser Prairie-Chicken Interstate Working Group
- Natural Resources Conservation Service: Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative
- NatureServe Explorer Species Profile: Lesser Prairie-Chicken
- Texas Ahead (Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts): Lesser Prairie Chicken
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Lesser Prairie-Chicken