ABSTRACT
Abstract. The Mixed-Grass Prairie Ecoregion of northeastern Texas, panhandle of northwestern Oklahoma, and south-central Kansas is the geographic center of the extant range of Lesser Prairie-Chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus), and historically contained the highest density of the species. Currently, only the short-grass and sand sagebrush prairies of western Kansas support larger populations of Lesser Prairie-Chickens. Much of the mixed-grass prairie was severely fragmented by homesteading over a century ago, and fragmentation is ongoing due to oil and gas development, wind power development, transmission lines, highways, and expansion of invasive plants such as eastern red-cedar (Juniperus virginiana). Road and fence densities in the mixed-grass prairie are also high compared to other ecoregions in the range of Lesser Prairie-Chickens; fencelines pose a high risk for collision mortalities in the Mixed-Grass Prairie Ecoregion. Densities of Lesser Prairie-Chickens in
the mixed-grass prairie have declined considerably over the past century. The combination of a lek breeding system and isolation of subpopulations has resulted in vulnerability to stochastic events such as drought, heat waves, and epizootics, as well as a reduced effective population size and increased risk of inbreeding depression. Prescribed fire and moderated grazing regimes have been shown to promote vegetation floristic and structural diversity that is needed by Lesser Prairie-Chickens. We suggest the use of management guides to evaluate habitat quality and determine best practices for the conservation of Lesser Prairie-Chickens. We review the known issues in the mixed-grass prairie, focusing on conservation measures that will allow persistence of prairie chickens as an “icon of the prairie.”
