Managing Habitat

It’s a tough assignment to recreate a prairie where lightning ignited fires and millions of bison grazed. However, refuge staff are doing everything they can to restore an ideal home for the Attwater’s prairie-chicken. Prescribed burns, grazing management, and planting native grasses are slowly turning back the clock to reveal a landscape from an earlier century.

Prescribed Burns

Nature’s prescription for a prairie requires an occasional dose of fire. Refuge staff burn an average of 2,000 to 3,000 acres annually in January and February. Burning invigorates grasses by removing dead stems. Fire also gets rid of brush that aggressively invades the grasslands.

Where the Buffalo Roam

You might think the heavy hooves of bison, commonly known as American buffalo, pose an immediate threat to prairie-chickens if they happen to be anywhere close by. Instead, the bison and cattle you may see on the refuge are helping this bird with every mouthful they munch. Their grazing shapes the grassland into clumps with spaces between them that serve as pathways for young chicks.

Beating Back the Brush

Exotic species never seen on the prairies have taken root and pose a challenge for refuge staff. Prescribed fire helps control Macartney rose, Chinese tallow, and other invasive woody plants. Applying herbicide is sometimes necessary to get rid of them. Not only is the brush un-natural, the thickets serve as hide-outs for skunks, raccoons, and other predators of prairie-chicken nests.

Keeping Predators at Bay

Predators play an important role in ecosystem function. But, with so few birds left, refuge staff must manage mammalian predators during nesting season as long as bird numbers are drastically low. In recent years, few nests have survived to hatch, and predators took many of the captive-reared birds. Managing predators during the release gives a head start to prairie-chickens just getting used to life in the wild.

Planting a Wild Prairie

Much of the refuge consists of virgin prairie, never plowed or converted to croplands. However, you’ll find formerly cultivated fields on their way to becoming prairie too. The refuge staff first harvests native grass seeds from the virgin prairie in the fall, then distributes them in the old fields. Returning that field to a prairie takes years, but slowly the dedicated effort is paying off.

Growing Crops

Refuge staff plant 50 to 100 acres in small food plots annually to make sure the prairie-chickens have plenty to eat. Soybeans and sunflowers also provide shelter and an abundant source of insects for chicks during the summer months. Other wildlife species benefit from these food plots as well.