ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—A rare grouse found in a handful of Western and Midwestern states is getting some extra help in southeastern New Mexico thanks to a land purchase that will protect thousands of acres for the bird.
The Nature Conservancy announced Thursday it has purchased the 9,170-acre Johnson Ranch, which contains prime habitat for the lesser prairie chicken and other species in need of conservation.
The lesser prairie chicken—a stocky ground-dwelling bird found in parts of New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas—has been on the endangered species candidate list for more than a decade. In December, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service raised the bird’s status on the list to one of the most urgent categories.
“We’re at a critical juncture where most would feel that the population of the bird has dropped precipitously, but we’re beginning to see signs that it is recovering. So now is an important time to protect the habitat that’s needed to ensure that we get a stable population,” said Bob Findling, director of land protection and stewardship for The Nature Conservancy in New Mexico.
Findling said the Johnson Ranch is next to the 18,500-acre Milnesand Preserve, also owned by the conservancy, and is near tens of thousands of acres of southern shortgrass prairie habitat protected by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish in Roosevelt and Lea counties.
The ranch—a mix of shinery oak and prairie grasses—will serve as a “strategic” bridge between the area’s other suitable habitats, giving the lesser prairie chicken even more space for its famous courtship displays.
Findling said there are about 100 leks, or breeding sites, between the preserve and the ranch.
The ranch purchase was made with help from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, which provided $600,000, and the state of New Mexico, which added nearly $400,000.
Findling would not disclose the price of the ranch.
The Nature Conservancy said the preserve and the ranch are leased for grazing at low stocking rates that will conserve the prairie chicken habitat.
“The ranching economics are respected, traditional use is respected and wildlife habitat conservation is factored in,” Findling said.
Aside from the work of The Nature Conservancy and the Game and Fish Department, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management recently entered into conservation agreements with landowners in the region to help the lesser prairie chicken.
Conservation groups have been pushing the federal government to grant the lesser prairie chicken protection under the Endangered Species Act for years, saying the bird has declined by more than 90 percent over the past century and is facing threats that include energy development, climate change and the loss of habitat.
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