Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Kansas
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Historically, the Sand Sagebrush Prairie Ecoregion supported the greatest density of lesser prairie-chickens. Currently, the species is nearly extirpated from the ecoregion. Potential reasons for the rapid population decline include changes in land cover, vegetation composition, and vegetation structure. We will use historical vegetation data to detail potential changes in habitat quality, which may explain the population decline.