The lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) is a species of conservation priority because of long-term population declines and changes in native prairie habitat; primarily conversion of native prairie to other uses. With large acreages of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) expiring and new limitations on total acres to be enrolled, in 2010, The Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) initiated its Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative (LPCI) to retain these CRP fields as grassland and transform them into working lands. The LPCI was expanded to capitalize on 27 NRCS practices that can assist in addressing other threats to the species, which include woody plant encroachment, improper livestock grazing, and fence collision risk. Since listing of the lesser prairie-chicken as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act in 2014, enrollment in voluntary conservation has declined across its distribution. The LPCI is in the process of "retooling" to reengage landowners in voluntary conservation actions. This presentation explores scientific and social strategies to reinvigorate efforts to conserve the bird, the prairies and ranching lifestyles in the southern Great Plains.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.