By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach on Jan. 31 announced his intent to sue the federal government unless the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service withdraws a rule that would list the lesser prairie chicken as a threatened species.
“The Biden administration’s listing of this species will have a devastating impact on Kansas ranchers, Kansas oil producers, and Kansas wind farms. Moreover, it is illegal,” Kobach said in a press release. “Kansas will lead the way in fighting against this overreach by the Biden administration.”
Gov. Laura Kelly told members of the Kansas Farm Bureau on Feb. 7 she would oppose the lesser prairie chicken's listing on the endangered species list.
However, Jessica Augustine, executive director of the Kansas Audobon Society and an expert on prairie chickens, said ranchers and energy producers can work together to preserve the prairie chicken. She is arguing in support of greater protection for the species and its habitat.
Scare tactics
Kobach said in his press release the rule change would require Kansas ranchers to seek the federal government’s permission to shift a cattle herd to a new field. He said it also creates tougher restrictions for energy pipelines, roads and other development, including oil drilling.
Augustine said Kobach's statements were misleading. Augustine took particular issue with Kobach's assertion that the designation would require the ranchers to seek federal permission when shifting their cattle herds.
According to Augustine, who cited the U.S. Fish and Wildlife webpage, farmers can continue agricultural activities on existing cultivated land. This includes pastures that are being grazed, in hay or in row crops, she said.
"If farmers have been doing agricultural things, they can continue to do that," she said. "This listing is not going to change that.
"I think that is a scare tactic to get farmers worked up, but that is just not true."
Kobach emailed a response to Augustine's statements.
“Ms. Augustine apparently has not read the USFWS Federal Register listing, or she does not understand it," Kobach said. "The Federal Register Listing of the lesser prairie chicken states very clearly that ranchers who own land in the northern region (which includes Kansas) must develop a 'prescribed grazing' plan and have that plan approved by an agency to be designated by the federal government. If ranchers do not comply with this requirement, they can be penalized for a "take" of the species.
Kansas ranchers currently have the freedom to move their cattle from one pasture to another without following a "prescribed grazing" plan that is approved by a federally-designated agency, Kobach said.
"That freedom will end when the USFWS listing takes effect," he said. "This is a severe restriction on Kansans' property rights that is not consistent with federal law or the Constitution. That is why my office, along with other states, will be suing the Biden Administration to stop this listing.”
Conservation, ag complimentary
Augustine, who has a doctorate in biology, has studied prairie chickens since 2003. Eight of those years were spent specifically studying lesser prairie chickens in western Kansas.
She said cattle grazing can help create the ideal habitat for lesser prairie chickens and the two species can occur in harmony. All the areas she studied in her research were on private land that was also being grazed by cattle.
"People are trying to push the story that cattle and prairie chickens can't co-exist, but they can and have been and that's why they're still here. Grasslands that are healthy for cattle are also great grasslands for lesser prairie chickens," Augustine said.
Prairie chickens need grass of different heights throughout their breeding cycle. They need short grass and usually pick open areas or hills for displaying and mating.
Females will choose thick, tall grass to hide their nests. After the chicks hatch, the juveniles need grass that is at about 50 percent height and density.
Hay fields can provide taller grass, CRP can provide nesting grounds and grazed land can provide mating and brooding areas, Augustine said.
"They really do work well in an agricultural landscape," she said.
Provisions for energy producers
There would be restrictions in the federal regulations for new oil and wind production in the prairie chicken's range under the new listing. It wouldn't affect existing oil, gas and wind energy production. It would not completely stop new oil and gas wells from being drilled or wind farms from being constructed.
However, it would require developers who wish to drill new wells or build new turbines in prime lesser prairie chicken habitats to restore habitat in other areas of the birds' range, Augustine said.
"It's just encouraging that development to occur in locations that have the least amount of impact on lesser prairie chickens and their habitat," she said.
Scientists estimate prairie chickens need about 50,000 open acres to have a healthy population, but that does not exist anywhere in the birds' range.
"The wind turbines and transmission lines fragment the habitat," Augustine said. "The prairie chickens avoid those areas."
In her studies, Augustine has personally recorded lesser prairie chicken groups leaving areas where oil and gas production were introduced.
Greater prairie chickens that are found in other parts of the state seem to be less affected by these structures, Augustine said.
The case for more protection
Members of the U.S. Congressional delegation as well as Kobach have suggested conversation efforts remain voluntary.
Augustine said those voluntary efforts have proven ineffective in stabilizing the lesser prairie chicken population.
Current threats to the lesser prairie chicken remain, including habitat loss and fragmentation through human development and the encroachment of woody vegetation such as honey mesquite and cedars.
"We have been trying to do voluntary conservation efforts for 20 years, and they haven't improved the number of prairie chickens," she said. ...
"Voluntary efforts have shown not to be enough to increase the population sizes. I really hope this legislation will increase the funding and incentives for farmers and private land owners to do more for the prairie chickens.'
"I hope this will be enough to preserve the species," Augustine said of the listing.
Conservation efforts were enacted in 2013, when the lesser prairie chickens' population hit its lowest point. About 17,000 birds remained. That was a year after a significant drought.
As wetter conditions returned, the population increased to about 34,000 as of 2021. However, that is still a fraction of the 125,000 birds in the population as recently as 1990.
Since the conservation effort began, about 17,000 acres of lesser prairie chicken habitat has been restored, which is still not enough to sustain a healthy population, Augustine said. The rainfall and not conservation efforts were more likely the reason for the rebound in the population, she said.
Augustine predicted the lesser prairie chicken population for 2022 and 2023 will be down significantly due to severe drought.
Of the 34,000 birds in the birds' population, about two-thirds of those are in western Kansas. Populations are declining in all the surrounding states that are included in the birds' range. Western Kansas is the only location in the birds' range where populations are stable.
"If we lose what we have in western Kansas, we are losing the core and the future of the prairie chicken population," Augustine said.
Why save lesser prairie chickens?
"For me [prairie chickens] are a look into our history and our connection with the environment and the connection with our food source," Augustine said.
Prairie chickens were eaten in large quantities by the early plains settlers.
"Plus they are so darn cute," she said. "They make these displays and they try to attract the female, and they have been doing that for centuries."
The Kansas Audobon Society had its first LekTrek prairie chicken viewing event last year and hosted 90 people from 25 states in western Kansas.
This year the event, Kansas Lek Treks, will be April 13 to 16 in Hays. Visitors will be able to view the birds during their mating or "booming" season.
"They are a source of inspiration today and have importance through ecotourism plus they are a sign that we have healthy grasslands," Augustine said.