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Conservationists, Government Settle Listing Litigation
Contact: Mark Salvo (503) 757-4221

The lesser prairie-chicken, a species that has waited formore than a decade for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), willfinally receive its due in 2012. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed toaddress the species for listing next year as part of a landmark settlementagreement with WildEarth Guardians earlier this year. Now the organization hassettled separate litigation filed against the agency in 2010 to compel actionon the species.

“The road to listing is clear for lesser prairie-chicken,”said Mark Salvo of WildEarth Guardians. “Few species deserve protection morethan this imperiled grouse.”

Lesser prairie-chickens inhabit shinnery oak and sandsagebrush grasslands in parts of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, and Texas. Althoughcomparable in morphology, plumage, and behavior to greater prairie-chickens,lesser prairie-chickens are smaller and have distinctive courtship displays andvocalizations.

Lesser prairie-chicken range has declined by over 90 percentand its population is among the smallest of North American grouse, variouslyestimated between 10,000 to more than 50,000 birds (although some experts havewarned that fewer than 10,000 individuals may remain). Habitat loss anddegradation from livestock grazing, agriculture, oil and gas development, windenergy production, herbicide use, unnatural fire, and fire suppression areprimary threats to the species. Habitat fragmentation from fences andpowerlines and disturbance from roads and other activities also affect thebird. The conversion of habitat to cropland on private land enrolled in theConservation Reserve Program poses a serious threat to some populations.

Lesserprairie-chickens have been a candidate for protection under the ESA since 1998.WildEarth Guardians reported on the species’ status in 2004, and then again in2008 on the tenth anniversary of its candidate designation. The Fish andWildlife Service increased the lesser prairie-chicken’s listing priority numberfrom ‘8’ to ‘2’—the highest rank possible for the species—in 2008, recognizingthe imminent threats to its survival.

Prairie Dancer

Likeother western grouse, male lesser prairie-chickens engage in a communalbreeding display each spring to attract females. Both males and femalescongregate at breeding grounds (“leks”), where the males strut (“dance”),vocalize (“boom”) and physically confront other males to defend theirterritories and court females. The male repertoire includes displaying theirbright yellow eye combs, inflating their red air sacs, flutter jumping,cackling, and stamping their feet.

Historic Settlement Agreement Advances Protection for Hundredsof Imperiled Species

Thelesser prairie-chicken is one of more than 800 species addressed in WildEarthGuardians’ settlement agreement with the Fish and Wildlife Service, announcedon May 10, 2011, and approved by a federal court on September 9, 2011. Theagreement obligates the agency to make final listing determinations for 253species by September 2016, all but one of which are formal candidates for ESAprotection. The settlement resolved 12 lawsuits that Guardians filedchallenging the government’s failure to timely list species under the act, andattempts to fix a listing program that has failed to function properly sincethe Reagan Administration. It also schedules petition findings, 12-monthlisting determinations, and critical habitat designations for more than 600additional species. In return, WildEarth Guardians consented to dismiss itslawsuits and will refrain from suing Interior over missed listing deadlines forthe next six years. The Service met all of its obligations under the agreementfor FY 2011, taking action on 730 species.

Lesser Prairie-chicken Settlement Agreement as Filed inFederal Court

Lesser Prairie-chicken Settlement Agreement Approved by theFederal Court