Aerial and ground surveys of lesser prairie-chickens began Sunday, March 15, and will run through May 7. The surveys are conducted to gather more accurate population numbers and to assist with project clearance for the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Range-wide Plan administered by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA).

Personnel from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, Sutton Avian Research Center and Oklahoma City Zoo will conduct listening surveys from county roads in Cimarron, Texas, Beaver and Harper counties.

Aerial surveys by helicopter will be conducted in the same counties to locate additional groups of birds as they gather on breeding grounds. The aerial surveys will complement the listening surveys by identifying birds that cannot be seen or heard from the roadways.

This is the fourth year that these range-wide aerial surveys have been conducted in Oklahoma and across the lesser prairie-chicken's range.

The lesser prairie-chicken is a unique upland bird that has experienced sharp population declines. In 2014, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed it as a threatened species. The Wildlife Department is working to protect the bird while also supporting responsible development in the lesser prairie-chicken's habitat.

For more information about the lesser prairie-chicken and the conservation work being done to support it, go to wildlifedepartment.com.

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The mission of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is the management of Oklahoma's wildlife resources and habitat to provide scientific, educational, aesthetic, economic and recreational benefits for present and future generations of hunters, anglers and others who appreciate wildlife.