In response to the rapid and severe decline of the lesser prairie-chicken, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service today announced the final listing of the species as threatened under the
Endangered Species Act (ESA), as well as a final special rule under section 4(d) of the ESA that
will limit regulatory impacts on landowners and businesses from this listing. Under the law, a
“threatened” listing means the species is likely to become in danger of extinction within the
foreseeable future; it is a step below “endangered” under the ESA and allows for more flexibility
in how the Act’s protections are implemented.
In recognition of the significant and ongoing efforts of states and landowners to conserve the
lesser prairie-chicken, this unprecedented use of a special 4(d) rule will allow the five range
states to continue to manage conservation efforts for the species and avoid further regulation of
activities such as oil and gas development and utility line maintenance that are covered under the
Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ (WAFWA) range-wide conservation plan.
This range-wide conservation plan was developed by state wildlife agency experts in 2013 with
input from a wide variety of stakeholders. The special rule also establishes that conservation
practices carried out through the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Lesser
Prairie-Chicken Initiative and through ongoing normal agricultural practices on existing
cultivated land are all in compliance with the ESA and not subject to further regulation.
“The lesser prairie-chicken is in dire straits,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan
Ashe. “Our determination that it warrants listing as a threatened species with a special rule
acknowledges the unprecedented partnership efforts and leadership of the five range states for
management of the species. Working through the WAFWA range-wide conservation plan, the
states remain in the driver’s seat for managing the species – more than has ever been done before
– and participating landowners and developers are not impacted with additional regulatory
requirements.”
The Service has considered the lesser prairie-chicken, a species of prairie grouse commonly
recognized for its colorful spring mating display and stout build, to be a species in trouble for the
past 15 years. Its population is in rapid decline, due largely to habitat loss and fragmentation and
the ongoing drought in the southern Great Plains. Once abundant across much of the five range
states of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado, the lesser prairie-chicken’s 2 of 2
historical range of native grasslands and prairies has been reduced by an estimated 84 percent.
Last year, the range-wide population declined to a record low of 17,616 birds, an almost 50
percent reduction from the 2012 population estimate. The states’ conservation plan has a
population goal of 67,000 birds range-wide.
“To date, we understand that oil and gas companies, ranchers and other landowners have signed
up over 3 million acres of land for participation in the states’ range-wide conservation plan and
the NRCS’ Lesser Prairie Chicken Initiative,” said Ashe. “We expect these plans to work for
business, landowners and the conservation of prairie-chickens.”
In addition to the range-wide conservation plan and the Lesser Prairie Chicken Initiative, a
number of other on-the-ground programs have been implemented over the last decade across the
bird’s five-state range to conserve and restore its habitat and improve its status. Key programs
such as the USDA’s Farm Service Agency’s Conservation Reserve Program, the Bureau of Land
Management’s New Mexico Candidate Conservation Agreement, the Service’s Partners for Fish
and Wildlife Program and Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances in Oklahoma,
Texas and New Mexico, are engaging state and federal agencies, landowners and industry in
these efforts.
Collectively, these programs – and in particular, the range-wide conservation plan – serve as a
comprehensive framework within which conservation of the lesser prairie-chicken can be
achieved. The various efforts are similar to a recovery plan, something that the Service normally
prepares after a species’ listing. This early identification of a strategy to conserve the lesser
prairie-chicken is likely to speed its eventual delisting.
However, threats impacting the species remain and are expected to continue into the future. After
reviewing the best available science and on-the-ground conservation efforts focused on the
species, the Service determined that the lesser prairie-chicken is likely to become endangered in
the foreseeable future and warrants listing as threatened under the ESA. The agency is under a
court-ordered deadline to make a listing determination on the species by March 31.
The final rule to list the lesser prairie-chicken as threatened and the final special rule will publish
in the Federal Register and will be effective 30 days after publication. Copies of the final rules
may be found at the Service’s website at http://www.fws.gov/southwest.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish,
wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. For more
information, visit www.fws.gov, or connect with us through any of these social media channels:
In response to the rapid and severe decline of the lesser prairie-chicken, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced the final listing of the species as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), as well as a final special rule under section 4(d) of the ESA that will limit regulatory impacts on landowners and businesses from this listing. Under the law, a “threatened” listing means the species is likely to become in danger of extinction within the foreseeable future; it is a step below “endangered” under the ESA and allows for more flexibility in how the Act’s protections are implemented.
The final rule to list the lesser prairie-chicken as threatened and the final special rule will publish in the Federal Register and will be effective 30 days after publication.
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Final Conservation Efforts Table
Final 4d Rule
Final Listing Rule (1.76 Mb)
