Latest news with #PrairieChickenDay
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Annual Iowa DNR Prairie Chicken Day canceled due to declining population
DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources announced on Tuesday that it would be canceling its annual Prairie Chicken Day this year due to declining populations. During the late 1800s the greater prairie chicken was the most abundant gamebird in Iowa. According to the DNR, hunters would commonly bag 25-50 birds a day and there were even reports of hunters taking in as much as 200 a day. Lawmakers at the time became concerned about the overhunting and implemented limitations and restrictions on hunting, to no avail. The last hunting season for the birds was in 1915, and the last known nesting prairie chickens in the state were recorded in 1952. Last legs: Down to just 21 birds, Iowa's prairie chicken population fading away Despite multiple attempts in the 1980s to reintroduce the prairie chicken in locations like the Loess Hills and the Ringgold Wildlife Area, the bird's population continued to decline. Another reintroduction was attempted in the 1990s in Ringgold and the surrounding counties, which successfully established the Kellerton lek, their primary booming ground since then. However, the success was short lived as the prairie chicken's population again slowly declined. Another attempt was made in the 2000s with the Iowa Management Plan for Greater Prairie Chickens, and while a small population of the bird has returned to Iowa, it too has also declined. On Tuesday, the DNR announced that this year staff have only seen sporadic use of the main Kellerton lek by a few male prairie chickens, resulting in the cancellation of the annual Prairie Chicken Day event where Iowans would watch the bird's mating dance. The DNR said it's continuing to survey the birds and would appreciate any sightings be reported to them. Reports can be made on the DNR's website. Iowa News: Annual Iowa DNR Prairie Chicken Day canceled due to declining population WHO 13 Farm Report: Wednesday, March 26 Fort Dodge police identify man found dead outside burning apartment Statewide tornado drill scheduled for Wednesday morning Final Grandstand act for 2025 Iowa State Fair announced Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Iowa DNR cancels Prairie Chicken Day due to decline in population
A greater prairie chicken during its courtship at the Kellerton lek. (Photo by Lowell Washburn/DNR) Since the early 2000s, Iowans have gathered at the Kellerton Grasslands Bird Conservation Area at sunrise to watch the unique courtship dance of the prairie chicken, whose population in Iowa has been closely monitored for decades. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources announced Tuesday that Prairie Chicken Day, typically held the first week in April, was canceled due to the bird's decline in population that has resulted in only sporadic sightings at the typically popular site. The greater prairie chicken was once Iowa's most prominent game bird, and according to DNR might be the first game in the state to have a bag limit. Hunting of the bird officially ended in 1915 due to concerns of its declining population. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The number of prairie chickens continued to dip as agriculture and other development diminished grasslands in the state, which the prairie chicken needs to nest and brood. According to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, less than 0.01% of Iowa's landscape that was historically prairie remains. Stephanie Shepherd, a wildlife diversity biologist with DNR, said the prairie chicken is 'very picky' about its habitat and needs 'huge' areas of grass with very few trees to thrive. 'We see a lot about how much of the loss of habitat has already happened, and it has, but we are still also losing grassland,' Shepherd said. In the 1950s, Iowa recorded the last nesting prairie chickens in the state and it wasn't until the 1980s and 1990s that attempts were made to reintroduce the bird. Shepherd said because the prairie chicken has such high standards for its prairie, it acts as an 'umbrella species' for other grassland critters. She said the conservation efforts in southern Iowa by DNR, The Nature Conservancy, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and other groups have created 'one of the most wonderful grassland landscapes' and home to other prairie birds like short-eared owls, upland sandpipers and harriers. 'It's sad that it's not necessarily looking like it's going to support a sustainable prairie chicken population, but it is supporting lots of other wildlife, and is still an incredible place to visit,' Shepherd said. Shepherd said the birds are 'incredibly unique' from a conservationist standpoint, but also for their courtship dance, and the associated noises. Male prairie chickens have orange air sacs on the sides of their necks which they will inflate and 'boom' during mating. The birds begin their courtship dance and booming at dawn in the communal areas called leks during the spring. The observation deck at the Kellerton site looked out at a lek, which made it perfect for the festival. Shepherd said this year, only two males have been observed at the lek, which bodes poorly for a prairie chicken day, but not necessarily for the birds themselves. 'That doesn't necessarily mean that the population has crashed and is gone,' Shepherd said. 'They do sometimes decide that they don't like one lek and move to another one for a couple years and shift around.' This is also why the department is expanding its search for the greater prairie chicken beyond the leks it already monitors. 'We've been doing surveys all along, and the numbers keep steadily going down, but the missing piece is: Are there leks that we just don't know about?' Shepherd said. The department estimates there are 40-70 prairie chickens in Iowa, primarily in Adair, Madison, Adams, Union, Clarke, Taylor, Ringgold, Decatur and Wayne counties, though the territory also stretches into northern Missouri. Iowans who have prairie chickens on their property, or find them in the state, are encouraged to report their findings through an online form to the department. The department is also deploying several automated recording units that can detect the prairie chickens' unique call, which could help identify additional leks. 'You can never say never with wildlife, it will always surprise you,' Shepherd said. 'So who knows there could be, like, 17 leks out there that we have no idea about.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
