Conservation Partners: December 2009

"The Habitat Organization" and Partners Aim to Restore 60 Million Acres of the Continent's Grasslands

Funding Predicted to Lead to 40 Percent Increase in Lesser Prairie Chickens

Short-grass prairie covers 300,000 square miles of the lower Great Plains, critical habitat for upland birds including the lesser prairie chicken. Thanks to a Keystone Species Initiative grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation totaling $14 million over the next 10 years, these southern Great Plains will receive a steady stream of conservation funding to achieve unprecedented gains in habitat quality, connectivity and stability in the short-grass prairie ecosystems. The grant was secured by the Playa Lakes Joint Venture and its conservation partners. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will provide about 40 percent of total costs, with the remainder generating from federal and state agencies and private sources. Of particular importance is the active participation by the United States Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm Services Agency, both of which disburse funding as part of the federal Farm Bill.

The Playa Lakes Join Venture's Grassland Bird/Play Lake Initiative focuses on a large suite of species that will benefit from more effective and targeted habitat management and conservation. Over 10 years, the Playa Lakes Join Venture calculates the conservation actions taken through this funding will increase the population of lesser prairie chickens by at least 40 percent.

Barbed-Wire Fences Deadly to Sage Grouse, Report Says

A recent report filed by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department suggests several sage grouse are dying as a result of colliding with thousands of miles of barbed-wire fences in the West. The ongoing study found that collisions with a relatively short section of barbed-wire fence killed dozens of sage grouse over a seven-month period, research that could affect a decision on whether to protect the bird under the Endangered Species Act. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department documented 146 instances of finding sage grouse feathers and/or carcasses on or near a 4.7-mile section of barbed-wire fence near Farson in western Wyoming. Placing colored tags on the fence to make the wire more visible seemed to reduce the number of birds killed by about 60 percent, the study also found.

The research suggests that quite a few sage grouse are dying as a result of colliding with the thousands of miles of barbed-wire fence crisscrossing the West, biologists said. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has until the end of February to decide whether to protect sage grouse under the federal Endangered Species Act. The deadline emerged from a lawsuit filed by environmentalists to try to get sage grouse listed. Sage grouse are found in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota and Wyoming, as well as in Canada. Disappearance of sagebrush habitat is one reason why the birds are believed to have declined between 55 and 90 percent from their historic numbers.

Go Directly to the Prairie Grouse Partners Page

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