The greater prairie chicken is a medium-sized grouse species native to the grasslands of central North America. They were once abundant across the Great Plains, but their populations have declined significantly due to habitat loss and fragmentation. Today, greater prairie chickens are found in isolated pockets of prairie habitat in a handful of U.S. states. Knowing what states still have viable greater prairie chicken populations can help conservationists target their efforts to protect this iconic prairie grouse.
Range and Population
Historically, greater prairie chickens occupied grasslands across much of the Great Plains, from Canada south to Texas, and from Missouri west to Colorado. Their range stretched over 11 U.S. states and 4 Canadian provinces.
However, habitat loss from agricultural expansion, overgrazing, and development has caused greater prairie chicken populations to decline by over 90% from their historical numbers. They have been extirpated from 6 states and 2 provinces they once inhabited. Today, viable breeding populations of greater prairie chickens remain in only 5 U.S. states:
| State | Estimated Population |
|---|---|
| Kansas | 50,000 birds |
| Nebraska | 15,000 birds |
| Minnesota | 1,000 birds |
| Colorado | 1,000 birds |
| Texas | 500 birds |
Kansas has the healthiest remaining population, with an estimated 50,000 greater prairie chickens as of 2019. Nebraska and Minnesota have smaller but viable populations of several thousand birds each. Colorado and Texas have very small, fragmented populations of about 1,000 and 500 birds, respectively. These 5 states represent the last bastions of greater prairie chickens in the wild.
Habitat
Greater prairie chickens require large expanses of undisturbed native grasslands and prairies to thrive. They prefer grasslands with a diversity of medium-height grasses mixed with forbs, shrubs, and some bare ground. These varied prairies provide food, nesting cover, and display grounds for their elaborate mating rituals.
The 5 states where greater prairie chickens still persist all have remnants of untilled native prairie habitats, though even these habitats are becoming degraded and fragmented from fire suppression, overgrazing, and encroaching development. Kansas has the most intact tallgrass prairie left, which supports the majority of remaining greater prairie chickens. Parts of Nebraska and Minnesota also still have expansive native mixed-grass and tallgrass prairies that provide habitat.
Kansas
With over 50,000 greater prairie chickens, Kansas has more remaining birds than all other states combined. This is thanks to the presence of the largest expanse of tallgrass prairie left in North America, spanning parts of south-central and northeastern Kansas. These Flint Hills and Smoky Hills prairies still provide suitable breeding habitat for greater prairie chickens, though continued grazing pressure and fragmentation threaten their long-term viability. Private grasslands enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) also provide important habitat in Kansas.
Nebraska
Though Nebraska’s Sandhills and eastern riparian prairies are among the most intact prairie regions remaining, greater prairie chicken numbers have declined substantially from their historical highs. Nebraska still boasts an estimated 15,000 greater prairie chickens concentrated on private and public grasslands in the Sandhills, southeastern prairies, and Rainwater Basin. CRP grasslands provide important habitat, though CRP enrollment has dropped in recent years.
Minnesota
The tallgrass prairie regions of western and southwestern Minnesota, along with programs to restore native prairie on private lands, have helped maintain a small greater prairie chicken population in the state. Minnesota has about 1,000 total greater prairie chickens remaining. Their distribution is patchy, with most found in three main regions: northwestern Minnesota, southeastern Minnesota, and south of Windom. Maintaining native prairie habitat on public wildlife areas and private lands will be critical for their future survival in Minnesota.
Colorado
Though greater prairie chickens have declined severely in Colorado, a reintroduced population of about 1,000 birds persists in the sand sagebrush prairie of northeastern Colorado. This mixed-grass prairie provides the open shrubby habitat with adjacent grasslands required by the species. The future of Colorado’s greater prairie chickens depends on preserving this remaining patch of natural prairie through partnerships with private landowners and limiting fragmentation.
Texas
The fragmented remnants of native coastal prairie in Goliad, Refugio, and Wharton counties of Texas represent the last remaining habitat for about 500 greater prairie chickens in the state. Conservation of these prairies is challenging due to lack of large intact public lands. Working with private landowners to enhance grassland habitat while limiting grazing intensity and fragmentation will be essential to maintaining Texas’ tiny remaining population.
Threats and Conservation Status
Historically, one of the most significant threats to greater prairie chickens was market hunting, which decimated their numbers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While regulated hunting ended this threat, habitat loss and degradation remain the greatest danger to the species today. Conversion of prairies to croplands, overgrazing, fire suppression, petroleum development, and woody plant encroachment have severely reduced available habitat. Urban and exurban sprawl has also increasingly fragmented their prairie habitats.
These pressures led the greater prairie chicken to be considered threatened and warranting protection under the Endangered Species Act in the late 1990s and early 2000s. However, its listing was precluded by higher conservation priorities. Greater prairie chickens remain a national conservation priority species today, though are not federally protected. They are listed as a state threatened species in Colorado.
Efforts to conserve remaining populations and prairie habitat include both federal and state conservation programs. The Conservation Reserve Program pays farmers to restore cropland into prairie. State agencies and non-profits work to protect and manage public and private prairie lands. Reintroductions have helped re-establish populations in some states like Colorado. Continued habitat conservation and management will be essential to ensure greater prairie chickens remain a part of the Great Plains’ prairie ecosystems.
Interesting Facts
Here are some interesting facts about the greater prairie chicken:
– Also known as the pinnated grouse, they are famous for the elaborate breeding displays by males on communal leks each spring. Males puff out brilliant yellow air sacs, stamp their feet, and spread their tail feathers to attract females.
– They prefer to eat seeds and buds from native prairie plants but will also consume insects like grasshoppers. In fall and winter they mainly feed on corn leftover in fields from harvesting.
– Greater prairie chicken nests are a shallow depression on the ground lined with grasses and feathers. Females lay about 12 eggs per clutch and raise one brood per year. The chicks are able to fly short distances after only 2 weeks.
– Early pioneers reported that the booming of male greater prairie chickens on their leks sounded like distant thunder. The sounds carry over 2 miles and are made by air rushing across specialized neck feathers.
– Greater prairie chickens once had up to 10 distinct subspecies across their vast historic range. Only one subspecies, Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus, remains today.
– They spend summer and fall in smaller family groups, but congregate into larger flocks of hundreds of birds in winter. Flocks break up in early spring as males establish territories and breed.
– Greater prairie chickens are one of North America’s most spectacular species of grouse. Seeing their elaborate breeding displays on native prairies is a highlight for many birdwatchers. Though populations are a fraction of historic levels, conservation provides hope that these icons of the Great Plains may recover across more of their range to delight future generations.
Conclusion
In conclusion, viable breeding populations of the iconic greater prairie chicken now exist in only 5 U.S. states: Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Colorado, and Texas. These states maintain the largest remaining fragments of the species’ favored native prairie habitat. However, even in these states, greater prairie chicken habitat is becoming increasingly fragmented and degraded. Targeted conservation efforts on public and private lands that protect large prairies from fragmentation and restore native vegetation will be essential for the greater prairie chicken’s survival. Greater prairie chickens remain vulnerable to extinction, but they also symbolize the resilience of native prairie ecosystems. Ongoing conservation commitment provides real hope that future generations may also experience the booming display of greater prairie chickens announcing the arrival of spring on intact prairies across the Great Plains.
