Milnesand Prairie Preserve

The New Mexico program is working in the eastern part of the state to protect the lesser prairie chicken.
© Alan Eckert Photography

The lesser prairie chicken once roamed in abundant numbers across the high plains of five states. Yet since 1900, their populations plummeted by 97 percent. However, since the Conservancy recently purchased a piece of prime prairie chicken habitat --the 18,500-acre Creamer Ranch in eastern New Mexico -- these distinctive "booming" birds now have a greater chance of survival.

Long recognized as the center of the state's prairie chicken population, the Creamer Ranch, now called the Milnesand Prairie Preserve, has more than 40 leks, or display grounds –an extraordinary density of birds. The ranch also provides habitat for the imperiled sand dune lizard, which is endemic to the area, black-tailed prairie dogs, burrowing owls, plains leopard frogs and a host of other prairie species.

The area is characterized by rolling sand dunes stabilized by shinnery oak which provides cover for prairie chicken nests. The male birds perform their elaborate mating rituals on booming grounds known as leks. At daybreak in the spring, the male birds gather here, spreading their feathers, inflating the brilliant orange sacs on the sides of their necks, and "dance" while making a "booming" noise that can be heard more than a mile away. This display attracts the hens to mate with the males of their choice.

The Conservancy will manage the ranch for its conservation values while allowing its former owners, Roy and Shirley Creamer, to maintain a reduced livestock operation. This collaboration, along with partnerships with other ranchers and federal and state wildlife agencies, should improve the lesser prairie chicken's prospects for recovery.

Threats
Grasslands, which make up one-third of New Mexico, are generally regarded as the most endangered ecosystem in North America. Grassland birds were historically found in vast numbers across the prairies of the western Great Plains. Today, the birds of these and other grasslands have shown steeper, more consistent and more geographically widespread declines than any other group of North American species. These losses are a direct result of the declining quality of habitat due to human activities such as conversion of native prairie to agriculture, oil and gas exploration, urban development and suppression of naturally occurring fire.