11 New Working Lands for Wildlife Projects Provide Opportunities for Producers to Restore, Protect Habitat

NEW FLORENCE, Missouri, Nov. 29, 2016 – From the northern bobwhite to trout and salmon, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adding dozens of new target species to its premier wildlife conservation effort that helps agricultural producers make wildlife-friendly improvements on working lands. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is adding 11 new projects to Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW), the agency’s targeted, science-based effort to help producers restore and protect habitat for declining species on farms, ranches and working forests.

“Agriculture and wildlife both thrive together through landscape conservation,” said NRCS Chief Jason Weller, who toured a Missouri farm that has created young forest habitat to aid bobwhite and many other species. “Working Lands for Wildlife has delivered many unprecedented successes over the years, and we’re proud of our collective past achievements and look forward to continuing our work with America’s producers.”

With more than two-thirds of the continental United States under private ownership, bobwhite is one of many wildlife species that depend heavily on working lands for habitat and food. Projects focus on declining species that have needs compatible with agricultural practices and rural land management and that can benefit from conservation on private lands. Some of the new projects focus on one target species; others focus on a group of species. Projects include:

• Northern Bobwhite in Grasslands, Virginia, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Missouri and Kentucky;
• Northern Bobwhite in Pine Savannas, Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Alabama;
• Northeast Turtles, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and Vermont;
• American Black Duck, Delaware, Maryland, Vermont and New Jersey;
• Yazoo Darter, Mississippi;
• Conasauga River Aquatic Species, Georgia and Tennessee;
• Colorado River Aquatic Species, Texas;
• Shorebirds of Louisiana Wetlands, Louisiana;
• Cutthroat Trout, Colorado;
• Sandhills Grasslands, Nebraska; and
• Kenai Peninsula Salmon, Alaska.

When habitat is restored for these species, many others benefit. NRCS uses species as indicators of the health of the ecosystem at-large.

NRCS staff worked with conservation partners to identify new species and landscapes. Considerations included the compatibility of the species and agriculture, the network of available partners and the needs of the species.

Working Lands for Wildlife Conservation Model

So far, WLFW has helped producers restore 6.7 million acres of habitat for seven target species, such as the New England cottontail and greater sage-grouse. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) determined last year that Endangered Species Act protections were not necessary for these species largely because of the voluntary conservation efforts on working lands.

“The future of wildlife, agriculture and rural ways of life depend on our collective ability to transfer our Working Lands for Wildlife model to more species and working landscapes,” Weller said.

Through WLFW, NRCS strategically invests where conservation returns are highest and measures how wildlife respond to management activities to refine conservation efforts.

Own or Manage Land? You Can Help.

NRCS provides technical and financial assistance to help producers adopt a variety of conservation practices on their land. NRCS staff help producers with a conservation plan and provide funding to cover part of the costs for adopting the practices. These practices are designed to benefit both the species and the agricultural operation.

By participating in WLFW, producers also receive regulatory predictability under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Once enrolled, they may continue to implement their conservation efforts without fear of additional regulations.

To learn more about assistance opportunities, landowners should contact their local USDA service center.

Do barbed-wire fences pose a threat to lesser prairie-chickens? A recent study of more than 1,700 miles of livestock fences in Kansas and Colorado found little evidence of fence collision mortality. The study helps create a more detailed picture of threats to the lesser prairie-chicken populations across their range.

For resource managers working to conserve lesser prairie-chickens, it’s critical to accurately
identify threats and develop effective practices to address them. Scientific studies help provide the data that can help focus effort and funding on those practices that have a clear and significant positive effect.

Until recently, scientific data related to lesser prairie-chicken conservation has been limited. In recent years, however, as the range-wide population of this once-abundant prairie grouse dropped to historic lows, an unprecedented research effort has been underway to better understand the ecology, threats, and effective conservation of this species.

One of the overarching revelations of the emerging research is that threats and conservation strategies can vary across the prairie-chicken’s range. Effective management needs to accommodate and respond to these variations. Mortality due to fence collisions appears to be one such varying threat, perhaps corresponding with variations in fence density.

Like its cousin, the greater sage-grouse, the lesser prairie-chicken is a relatively low-flying bird, particularly when flushed. Many, though not all, research studies have shown that, for sage grouse, fences pose a significant threat and that fence-marking with vinyl tabs can reduce that mortality by more than 80%.

For lesser prairie-chickens, research has yielded less conclusive results. Several studies sampling various parts of the lesser prairie-chicken’s range in Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico showed little or no fence-related morality. One study in Oklahoma showed high mortality related to fence collision. No studies have yet assessed the effectiveness of markers in reducing prairie-chicken mortality.

The new fence collision study, led by biologist Samantha Robinson of Kansas State University, came down conclusively on the side of minimal mortality from fences. Both by surveying fence lines and by tracking radio-marked birds, the research team found little fence-collision risk.

Specifically, the research team documented only 1 fence-collision mortality in more than 12,700 recorded fence crosses by radio-tagged birds. During fence surveys, they found 3 carcasses that bore evidence of predator-related death. They also found 12 sites of potential collisions (dropped feathers), but could not conclusively document mortality of any lesser prairie-chicken due to a fence collision.

So how does this study help inform lesser prairie-chicken conservation practices? Current management recommendations for the species focus on the studies that indicated a significant threat from fence collision. Because of that, federal agencies like the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which leads the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative, have required and provided financial assistance to mark and/or remove fences as part of conservation management planning.

Read the fence collision research report.

The report from Robinson’s team suggests that, given the low incidence of fence collisions for prairie-chickens in low-density fence areas (< 2 km of fence per km²), marking fences in such areas uses resources that could be more effectively applied to improving the quality and quantity of prairie habitat.

“Hopefully given the results of this study, the time and money invested in marking fences can be refocused to grassland management and protection and restoration of farms and ranches,” said Robinson.

The team additionally recommended that land managers aim to maintain low fence densities to avoid increasing risk to lesser prairie-chickens, such as what is found in Oklahoma.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) yesterday fulfilled a court ruling that had vacated its Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing decision, by officially removing the lesser prairie-chicken from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.

Lesser prairie-chicken (photo Jeremy Roberts, Conservation Media)

According to the FWS, this administrative action and the decision not to appeal the court’s ruling do not constitute a biological determination on whether or not the lesser prairie-chicken warrants federal protection. The Service is undertaking a thorough re-evaluation of the bird’s status and the threats it faces using the best available scientific information to determine anew whether listing under the ESA is warranted.

“The storied prairie landscape of the Southwest is of tremendous economic and cultural importance. It is also a critical area for the birds, mammals, reptiles and other animals that rely on this unique habitat,” said Service Director Dan Ashe.

“Responding to this court ruling by removing the bird from the Federal List does not mean we are walking away from efforts to conserve the lesser prairie-chicken. Far from it,” Ashe said. “We are undertaking a new status review to determine whether listing is again warranted, and we will continue to work with our state partners and others on efforts to protect vital habitat and ensure this flagship of the prairies survives well into the future.”

On June 9, 2014, the Permian Basin Petroleum Association and several New Mexico counties filed a lawsuit challenging the Service’s 2014 listing of the lesser prairie-chicken as a threatened species under the ESA. In September 2015, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and vacated the final listing rule, effectively ending ESA protections for the bird.

The ruling had the effect of also invalidating the Service’s rule under section 4(d) of the ESA that tailored the regulations governing take of the species under the ESA to focus on those activities that are threats to the species’ survival.

Despite the ruling, the Service continues to engage in a number of major initiatives to conserve lesser prairie-chicken populations, including the Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife program, the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Range-wide Conservation Plan developed and administered by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and the NRCS-led Lesser Prairie Chicken Initiative (LPCI).

According to LPCI Coordinator Jon Ungerer, the delisting will not affect the LPCI partnership’s strong commitment to improving habitat for lesser prairie-chickens.

“LPCI will continue to provide technical and financial assistance to landowners interested in voluntarily improving grassland health using proven conservation methods.” said Ungerer.

Once abundant across much of the five range states of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado, the lesser prairie-chicken’s historical range of native grasslands and prairies has been reduced by an estimated 84 percent.

Lesser prairie-chicken populations need large tracts of intact, high-quality prairie to survive and reproduce. As such, the lesser prairie-chicken serves as a key indicator of the health of native grasslands, which support regional ranching economies and many native wildlife species, such as migratory birds, scaled quail, pronghorn and mule deer.