Wildlife Habitat Management Institute

Greater prairie-chicken 

(Tympanuchus cupido)

May 2005 Fish and Wildlife Habitat Management Leaflet Number 27

General information

The greater prairie-chicken is an upland game bird, 

comprised of three distinct subspecies that inhabit the 

tallgrass and mixed-grass prairies of the central and 

southern United States. This species can be identified 

by its chicken-like body shape; expandable yelloworange throat skin, or tympani, in males; and brown, 

barred plumage. Except for its slightly larger size 

and darker coloring, its appearance resembles that of 

the lesser prairie-chicken, with which it locally interbreeds. The greater prairie-chicken is also closely related to the sharp-tailed grouse, and these two species 

are known to interbreed, as well.

During the 1800s, greater prairie-chicken populations 

shifted north and westward across North America, 

thriving on the limited agriculture brought by expanding European settlement. The combination of scattered croplands amid expansive grasslands was prime 

greater prairie-chicken habitat, offering food and cover throughout the year and limiting the need for extended seasonal migrations. Populations began to 

wane, however, as grassland habitats became more 

isolated and were replaced by intensive agricultural development. Though the combined subspecies 

once occupied a vast range across the central United 

States, from Canada through Texas and east to the 

Atlantic, the greater prairie-chicken now exists in restricted areas across a fragmented landscape.

Due to a combination of habitat loss, hunting, predation, harsh climate, and a variety of other factors, only 

two of the three greater prairie-chicken subspecies 

survive. The extinct heath hen (Tympanuchus cupido cupido), that formerly inhabited the eastern United 

States, was last sighted in 1932 on Nantucket Island. 

Attwater’s prairie-chicken (T. c. attwateri), now federally endangered, was represented in the wild by fewer 

than 50 birds until recent releases of captive-raised individuals. The northern race (T. c. pinnatus) is found 

in the country’s interior and occupies only a fraction 

of its former range.

The State Journal-Register

Greater prairie-chickens inhabit North American prairies, as their name implies. Both tallgrass and mixedgrass prairies support prairie-chickens, but much of these 

habitats have been degraded or lost during the last two 

centuries.

This leaflet is intended to provide an introduction to 

the habitat requirements of the greater prairie-chicken and assist landowners and land managers in developing comprehensive greater prairie-chicken management plans. The success of any species management 

plan depends on targeting the needs of the species 

while considering the needs of the people managing 

the land. This leaflet provides management recommendations that can be carried out to maintain existing greater prairie-chicken range and to create additional habitat. Land managers are encouraged to 

collaborate with wildlife professionals to identify and 

attain management objectives.

Range

The greater prairie-chicken is considered extirpated 

in Canada, and in several states and counties within 

the United States where it once flourished. Iowa’s current population stems from reintroduction efforts, as 

its original population disappeared in the 1950s, but 

prairie-chicken numbers remain small and precarious. Illinois and Missouri have listed the bird as en1
Greater prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) 

dangered, and it is considered threatened in 

Wisconsin and of special concern in Minnesota. 

Populations are also found in Oklahoma, 

Kansas, and Colorado and appear to be most secure in Nebraska and South Dakota.

Attwater’s prairie-chicken formerly inhabited the coastal prairies of Texas and Louisiana. 

After disappearing from one county after another, it has until recently been found only in 

Texas at the Galveston Bay Prairie Preserve in 

Galveston County and at the Attwater Prairie 

Chicken National Wildlife Refuge in Austin and 

Colorado counties. Captive breeding programs 

are currently underway, however, and reintroduction efforts may help to restore the bird to 

its former range.

Number observed per survey route 

U.S. Geological Survey, North American Breeding Bird Survey 

Map for greater prairie-chicken.

Habitat requirements

Greater prairie-chickens are primarily dependent 

upon grasslands, but occupy several different habitats 

within such ecosystems throughout the year in order 

to meet their seasonal needs. In addition to the critical food and cover that prairies provide, interspersed 

croplands, wetlands, oak stands, and shortgrasses may also be necessary to ensure that adequate resources are available. Habitat requirements and behaviors may differ slightly from one population to the 

next because the greater prairie-chicken exists in relatively isolated populations across a range of several 

states.

Food

Greater prairie-chickens are primarily herbivorous, 

consuming the fruits, seeds, flowers, shoots, and 

leaves of a variety of plants. Grasses, sedges, rushes, 

forbs, and some shrubs account for the wild vegetation they consume. During the winter months, however, these food resources become scarce, and greater 

prairie-chickens rely heavily on waste crops such as 

corn, soybeans, sunflowers, wheat, and other grains, 

where available. Acorns, buds, and seeds from grasses and forbs also contribute to the winter food supply. 

In the summer, insects provide a significant source of 

nourishment for all greater prairie-chickens, but they 

are particularly important to juveniles throughout the 

brood period. High insect numbers have been linked 

to the presence of native forbs and legumes such as 

alfalfa and sweetclover, also consumed by both juveniles and adults.

Breeding cover

Like other prairie grouse species, greater prairiechickens use breeding areas known as leks or booming grounds, where males gather in the spring to 

attract and mate with females. Leks are generally situated in highly visible, open areas, which allows greater opportunity for birds to detect predators and for females to observe displaying males. Such conditions 

can be found in areas of short vegetation, as well as 

on low traffic areas such as roads, airfield landing 

strips, and similar disturbed sites. Booming grounds 

may be located on flat lands, but elevated areas where 

low-lying vegetation exists tend to be more desirable. 

The same breeding grounds are often used year after 

year, and males continue to visit these locations outside the mating season.

USGS

Male greater prairie-chickens perform display rituals 

and compete to breed with females.

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Greater prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido)

Nesting and brood-rearing cover

Nesting usually takes place between April and June. 

Average clutch size is 12 eggs, and the incubation period is 23 to 26 days. Renesting may occur if initial attempts are unsuccessful. Nests are lined with vegetation in shallow depressions and are commonly found 

in undisturbed meadows, pastures, and hayfields. 

Areas in which principal cover consists mainly of native warm-season grasses such as little bluestem, big 

bluestem, switchgrass, and Indiangrass are often chosen as nest sites by females. Smooth brome and other 

non-native cool-season grasses may also attract nesting females; however, monocultures of these species 

may detract from overall habitat quality due to their 

homogenous vegetative structure. Vegetation should 

consist of medium height, but dense grasses to provide shade and protection from predators, yet they 

should not be so tall that the hen is unable to view potential threats from a standing position nor so dense 

that young chicks are unable to move through the 

grasses to escape danger.

Brood-rearing cover must also give shade and protection from predators, but it differs from nesting cover in that vegetation is somewhat sparser at ground 

level. Females will usually select cover that has been 

recently disturbed, as these areas facilitate movement by young chicks and possess forbs that attract 

high numbers of insects upon which broods can feed. 

Pastures, hayfields, and native grasses that have been 

grazed, burned, mowed, or disked are often chosen 

for brood rearing. Disturbed herbaceous wetlands 

may also be used.

Winter cover

Greater prairie-chicken activity in the winter centers 

around feeding, roosting, and lowland loafing. Food 

availability is a critical factor for greater prairie-chickens in the winter months. Extensive movement and 

excessive energy expenditure to locate food can increase mortality, so cover will ideally be in close proximity to food sources. Agricultural lands provide a 

large percentage of food at this time of year and are 

also used for loafing and some roosting. Low vegetation is commonly used for foraging, as well.

Habitat must provide refuge from extreme weather. 

Sedges and grasses, particularly those over 20 inches tall, are often used by greater prairie-chickens for 

roosting cover and facilitate snow accumulation of 

sufficient depths to allow for snow burrowing. Woody 

vegetation including shrubs such as snowberry and 

herbaceous wetlands are also used for roosting.

Jeff Vanuga, USDA NRCS

Diverse grasslands provide important nesting and escape 

cover for greater prairie-chickens, but monocultures, like 

that pictured above, do not.

Interspersion of habitat components

Ideal habitat for greater prairie-chickens consists of 

extensive tracts of tallgrass and mixed-grass prairies, 

interspersed with cropland in an approximate 3:1 ratio. These two components complement one another 

by supplying food and cover year-round. As well, management areas should contain less than 10 percent 

wooded and urban areas (combined). While greater 

prairie-chickens do make seasonal shifts throughout 

the year to find food, they generally do not migrate 

long distances. It is, therefore, important that various 

habitat elements be in close range. Nesting, broodrearing, and roosting activities typically occur within 5 miles of a booming ground. Females prefer nest 

sites within 2 miles of leks, and the high-energy, highprotein foods found in good brood-rearing cover must 

be accessible from nesting locations by young birds. It 

is advantageous for habitats to be either large enough 

to support multiple populations or near other population-supporting habitats to limit genetic isolation and 

facilitate recolonization in the event of local extirpations.

Minimum habitat area

The greater prairie-chicken is an area-sensitive species. The minimum area required to support a healthy 

population is dependent on the composition and quality of the habitat. At its highest quality, greater prairie-chicken habitat should occupy a total area of no 

less than 2 square miles, and this may be a conservative estimate according to research in some areas. 

Continuous tracts of grassland are best; although, this 

size requirement can be met by maintaining nearby 

blocks of at least 160 acres, each a minimum of onehalf mile wide. Table 1 provides a summary of habitat 

requirements for the greater prairie-chicken.

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Greater prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) 

Limiting factors

Major limiting factors for greater prairie-chicken populations include availability and quality of the habitat 

requirements described above. However, secondary 

population constraints may further limit greater prairie-chickens in some areas. Of particular concern are 

invasive vegetation species, predation, interspecific 

competition, and disease. Table 2 presents an example inventory chart for recording limiting factors.

Invasive vegetation

Invasive plant species can indirectly harm greater 

prairie-chickens and other wildlife by altering habitat structure and displacing beneficial vegetation 

that could be used for food and cover. Leafy spurge, 

for example, is an introduced weed that has infested 

parts of the northern greater prairie-chicken’s range, 

and Chinese tallow and Macartney rose have become 

a nuisance in Attwater’s prairie-chicken habitat. Nonnative cool-season grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass and smooth brome have been used by greater 

prairie-chickens for nesting, brood-rearing, and roosting, but these species often become invasive without 

proper management and detract from overall habitat 

quality. Similarly, sweetclover is frequently used for 

food, but its aggressive nature poses a threat to native 

vegetation. Also, encroachment by trees and woody 

plants leads to a conversion from grasslands to woodlands, reducing habitat for the greater-prairie chicken.

Predation 

Predation is a normal occurrence in nature and, in 

balanced ecosystems with healthy predator-to-prey ratios, is not a threat to prey populations. The greater 

prairie-chicken may be vulnerable to this threat, however, where proper cover is lacking or where predator populations are unusually high. Among the greater 

prairie-chicken’s main predators are raptors, with foxes, skunks, raccoons, snakes, and domestic dogs and 

cats causing mortality through nest predation.

Competition 

When two or more species overlap in range and utilize the same limited resources to meet their needs, 

competition is unavoidable. A lack of management 

of greater prairie-chicken habitat results in increased 

woody vegetation that is characteristic of sharp-tailed 

Roger Hill, USDA NRCS

The ring-necked pheasant, native of Asia, was originally brought by European settlers due to its value as a game 

species.

grouse habitat, presenting the opportunity for these 

two species to interact. Both are similar enough that 

they can interbreed, and they have been observed 

competing on booming grounds. The introduced ringnecked pheasant has thrived by parasitizing greater prairie-chicken nests, resulting in diminished nest 

success for the latter species in areas where they live 

in small patches or where they must be intensively 

managed. These competitive relationships have the 

potential to exacerbate the greater prairie-chicken’s 

decline.

Disease 

Disease is not currently a widespread problem among 

greater prairie-chicken populations, but it can become 

a serious threat should individuals come into close 

contact with one another. This can occur where food 

plots are small and isolated, leaving populations with 

only a limited area in which to gather. Commercial 

poultry facilities also increase the potential for disease, which can be transmitted to greater prairiechickens if contact is made.

Roger Hill, USDA NRCS

Great horned owls are skilled hunters whose prey sometimes includes the greater prairie-chicken.

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Greater prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido)

Table 1 Summary of greater prairie-chicken habitat requirements 

Habitat component Habitat requirements

Food - young Insects - particularly beetles and grasshoppers

Some plant material - especially leguminous forbs (alfalfa, clover, and sweetclover)

Food - adult Grasses, sedges, rushes, forbs, and some shrubs

Cultivated crops - corn, soybeans, sunflowers, sorghum, wheat, oats (also barley, millet, rye, 

buckwheat)

Insects

Other noteworthy foods - acorns, rose hips, dandelions, leguminous forbs (alfalfa, clover, 

and sweetclover)

Breeding cover Highly visible areas with low-lying vegetation - may be on flat lands, but preferably in elevated areas

Short cover areas or human developments such as roads and airfield landing strips

Nesting cover Medium height, dense grasses such as little bluestem, big bluestem, switchgrass, and 

Indiangrass

Brood-rearing cover Recently disturbed areas with grasses and forbs such as medium grazed pastures, hayfields, 

and burned habitats

Winter cover Tall sedges and grasses that accumulate snow for burrowing and are located near croplands 

and other winter food sources

Habitat interspersion Tall- and mixed-grass prairies interspersed with cropland at a 3:1 ratio 

Nesting, brood-rearing, and winter cover centered within 5 miles around a booming ground

Minimum habitat size Total habitat of at least 2 square miles

Continuous tracts of grassland habitat are best, but size requirement may be met by blocks 

of at least 160 acres with a minimum width of one-half mile

Table 2 Inventory of limiting factors

Availability/quality

Habitat component High Medium Low Absent

Food 

Breeding cover 

Nesting cover 

Brood-rearing cover 

Winter cover 

Interspersion of habitat components 

Minimum habitat area 

Quantity/degree of interference

Limiting factor High Medium Low Absent

Invasive/exotic vegetation 

Predator populations 

Competitor populations 

Disease 

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Greater prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) 

For planning purposes, fill in table 2 to determine the 

potential of a given area to support greater prairiechicken populations. Rate the habitat components 

and population constraints for the designated planning area based on the above descriptions. Habitat 

components that are absent from the area, or are 

available in low quantity or quality, are probably limiting greater prairie-chicken populations. High prevalence of secondary population constraints may likewise indicate an unhealthy ecosystem or lead to a 

habitat imbalance in the future. Once limiting factors 

have been identified, select the management options 

from table 3 that are most likely to raise the quality 

or availability of habitat components determined to 

be limiting greater prairie-chicken habitat potential. 

Tables 4 and 5 list NRCS conservation practices and 

various programs that may provide financial or technical assistance to carry out specific management practices.

Grassland management for greater 

prairie-chickens

The decrease in grassland habitat due to destruction 

and/or lack of management and the decline of greater prairie-chicken populations are directly related. In 

the absence of large, healthy prairies, greater prairiechickens lack sufficient food and cover, and are at a 

marked disadvantage when faced with predation and 

disease. Detailed below are several ways in which 

land managers can establish additional prairie habitat 

and improve the quality of existing habitats.

Prairie restoration

Degraded lands, or land used for other purposes, can 

be converted to prairie to increase habitat for greater 

prairie-chickens and other grassland species. Selected 

sites should be wide open and higher in elevation than 

the surrounding land. Native warm-season grasses 

and forbs are most beneficial for wildlife, and seeding mixtures should be selected based on the soil type 

and climate of the region. Site preparation is critical. Prior to seeding, the designated area should be 

cleared of undesirable vegetation to reduce competition when new seeds are planted. This can be performed manually or by applying a nonpersistent herbicide. It may be necessary to repeat this step several 

times if regrowth occurs, but seeding should be delayed at least 2 weeks following an herbicide treatment. Seeding can be done in the spring or fall with a 

specialized seed drill. Prairies may take several years 

before becoming fully established, but they offer a 

significant contribution to wildlife. For more information on native warm season grasses, refer to Fish 

and Wildlife Habitat Management Leaflet Number 25, 

Native Warm-Season Grasses for Wildlife.

Patch burning

Because greater prairie-chickens usually occur in areas grazed by cattle or other herbivores, grazing management is an integral part of restoring their habitat. 

Fire can also be used to alter the structure and composition of the native plant community. However, 

large-scale uniform burns and grazing systems that 

use additional fencing are detrimental to the greater prairie-chicken. Patch burning, also known as rotational grazing without fences or fire-grazing interaction, provides an alternative to traditional fire and 

grazing programs and a practical way to restore greater prairie-chicken habitat. Patch burning increases 

landscape heterogeneity and provides the diversity 

of habitat, structure, and plant composition that the 

greater prairie-chicken requires without affecting livestock performance. Patch burning allows grazing and 

fire to interact to cause a shifting vegetation pattern 

across the landscape.

Patch burning is accomplished by applying spatially 

discrete fires to approximately one third of a management unit and allowing animals free access to both 

burned and unburned patches. Livestock will focus 

grazing on recently burned patches until new patches are burned. When grazing shifts to newly burned 

patches, patches previously burned have abundant 

forbs and begin to return to grass dominance. When 

patches return to grass dominance they are burned 

again, restarting the cycle. Landscapes with these distinct patches resemble the mosaic characteristic of 

historical grasslands and provide a diverse choice of 

habitats for wildlife that cannot be created by continuous grazing or rotational grazing within years. The 

appropriate frequency of fire in a patch burn landscape is dependent on climate. Late summer, fall, and 

winter burns usually allow for a higher proportion 

Lynn Betts, USDA NRCS

Cattle often graze in areas that provide prairie chicken 

habitat, but with proper grazing management, the two 

can coexist.

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Greater prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido)

of forbs and less disturbance to nesting sites than do 

spring burns.

Prescribed burning

Even without the grazing component, burning is an effective tool in grassland management. When applied 

properly, fire can control invasive and woody vegetation, maintain various stages of plant growth, and promote biodiversity and prairie health. Managed burns 

should be conducted rotationally at intervals of 3 to 

5 years, allowing approximately 65 to 75 percent of 

grassland, in blocks at least a half-mile wide, to remain undisturbed annually. Firebreaks should be used 

to contain fires on prescribed areas. Burns performed 

in early spring and late summer generally yield the 

greatest benefit for wildlife, although local conditions should be considered to determine ideal timing. 

Prescribed burning is a technical process that should 

be conducted under the direction of wildlife management professionals and in compliance with all state 

and local regulations.

Mowing

Although not as effective as prescribed burning, mowing and haying can be used to achieve similar results 

in prairie management. Mowing is useful in controlling weeds and promoting growth of desirable vegetation. As with burns, it is most advantageous to 

mow on a rotational schedule at 3- to 5-year intervals. 

To reduce mortality of ground-nesting birds, mowing should be postponed until August, if possible. 

Delayed mowing may not be a feasible option on all 

lands, particularly haylands managed for forage harvest. Managers of these lands may instead have some 

success accommodating ground-nesting birds by 

avoiding areas in which they are known to nest or by 

mowing from the center of a field outward, which provides an opportunity for escape. Additionally, mowing should be completed early enough in the season to 

allow for some regrowth, which will provide residual 

vegetation for nesting cover the next spring.

Disking

Light disking can be performed to maintain sections 

of non-native grasslands at an early successional 

stage and to open them up for broods and foraging. 

Disking should be carried out in February or March, 

prior to the nesting season. Strips should be rotationally disked to a depth of 2 to 4 inches at an interval of 

3 to 5 years. No more than a third of a field should be 

disked annually. Disking can also be performed to create firebreaks around prescribed burn areas.

Reducing predation and competition

The best protection that greater prairie-chickens have 

against predation and competition is the availabiliJeff Vanuga, USDA NRCS

Fire is an important component of natural grassland ecosystems. Burning increases nutrients available for plant 

growth, and improves wildlife habitat structure. Today, 

managers perform controlled burns to simulate natural 

disturbance.

ty of high-quality grassland. Maintaining this habitat 

provides the vegetative cover that hens use to build 

well-concealed nests, and it eliminates woody vegetation that predators hide in or use as hunting perches. 

Because sharp-tailed grouse habitat typically consists 

of grasses and woody brush, maintaining grasslands 

at an early successional stage will help to keep its 

habitat separate from that of the greater prairie-chicken.

Ring-necked pheasants frequently lay their eggs in 

prairie-chicken nests, essentially tricking greater prairie-chicken hens into incubating and raising pheasant chicks rather than their own due to a shorter 

incubation period. This interaction can severely reduce greater prairie-chicken nesting success in areas where prairie-chicken numbers are dangerously low. Land managers can help to reduce the impact 

on greater prairie-chickens by reducing or eliminating ring-necked pheasant populations from important 

greater prairie-chicken habitats. Hunting is one option 

that can be considered to accomplish this objective. 

Another option involves removing pheasant eggs from 

greater prairie-chicken nests, but land managers must 

be able to locate nests and identify eggs by species.

Cropland management for greater 

prairie-chickens

The interspersion of croplands with prairies has been 

attributed to the greater prairie-chicken’s widespread 

dispersal across the United States in the 19th century. 

Although crops are required in lesser quantities than 

grasslands, they remain a critical component of greater prairie-chicken habitat, especially in the northern 

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Greater prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) 

range. Land managers can incorporate one or more of 

the management options described below into their 

existing practices to provide improved or increased 

cropland cover for greater prairie-chickens.

Crop residue management

Conservation tillage provides an alternative to conventional tillage practices, which remove residue 

from the soil surface. Leaving crop residue on the surface serves a number of purposes such as increasing 

nutrients in the soil, reducing erosion, and improving wildlife habitat. Reduced-till farming techniques 

leave 15 to 30 percent of the soil surface covered with 

residue after planting. Conservation tillage systems, 

which encompass mulch-, ridge-, and no-till practices, 

allow 30 percent or more of the soil surface to remain 

covered. Crop residue management can result in increased insect populations, but greater prairie-chickens will benefit by consuming both crop residue and 

the invertebrates that are attracted to it. Land managers should carefully select a tillage system and may 

wish to combine it with integrated pest management.

Pest management

Chemicals can be an effective way to control weeds, 

insects, and other pests. However, many chemicals 

can be toxic to nontarget organisms and can destroy 

food supplies for some species. When managing for 

greater prairie-chickens, it is important to consider 

their food and cover requirements. During the summer months, their diet consists largely of insects, and 

they rely on grasses and forbs for nesting and brood 

rearing. The breeding season is a critical period for 

greater prairie-chickens, and chemical treatments 

at this time may destroy their prey base and damGene Alexander, USDA NRCS

Increased soil organic matter, improved water infiltration, reduced soil erosion, and forage and cover 

for wildlife are just a few of the benefits afforded by 

crop residue management.

age their habitat. Whenever possible, land managers 

should try to limit pesticide applications through effective integrated pest management. Further information on integrated pest management is found in Fish 

and Wildlife Habitat Management Leaflet Number 24, 

Integrated Pest Management and Wildlife.

Food plots

Food plots can provide supplemental winter food for 

greater prairie-chickens and may be particularly useful when significant snow accumulation prevents access to other food sources. Plots will ideally offer a 

mix of grains, but corn and sorghum are good options 

if only one or two can be planted. Landowners should 

be careful in planting food plots as they can potentially attract wildlife to areas of low habitat quality 

and present an opportunity for disease to spread. To 

reduce these risks, multiple food sources should be 

made available in high-quality habitat, and land managers should avoid planting food plots in areas frequently occupied by domestic poultry. Table 3 lists 

greater prairie-chicken management options.

Available assistance

Technical and financial assistance is available to landowners through a variety of government agencies 

and other organizations. Landowners and managers 

should enlist the expertise of state and local natural 

resource professionals to help assess habitat quality 

and management practices for sustaining greater prairie-chicken populations and enhancing habitat quality. Table 4 lists NRCS conservation practices that may 

be useful in undertaking management actions. Table 5 

lists organizations that can provide information about 

greater prairie-chicken management, as well as other 

natural resources projects, and describes their associated conservation incentives programs.

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Greater prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido)

Table 3 Management options for improving greater prairie-chicken habitat

Habitat component Management options for increasing habitat quality or Conservation practices/ 

availability assistance programs

Food Maintain grass and forb components within tallgrass prairies 338, 645, 647 

by implementing rotational disturbance management options, 

especially prescribed burning. CRP, EQIP, PFW, WHIP

Use crop residue management techniques, such as reduced or 329 A,B,C, 344

conservation tillage, to leave waste crops on the soil surface 

as winter food sources.

Limit herbicide and pesticide use, replacing with non-chemical 595

management techniques when possible, to prevent harmful 

exposure to wildlife and to ensure availability of insect prey.

Plant multiple food plots of mixed grains, especially corn and CRP, EQIP, PFW, WHIP

sorghum, near winter roosting cover to supplement winter 

food sources.

Cover Establish new prairies by seeding with native grass species 

such as little bluestem, big bluestem, switchgrass, and 

Indiangrass, and native forbs. 

327

CRP, EQIP, PFW, WHIP

Preserve and maintain areas used as, or appropriate for, 

breeding grounds by implementing disturbance management 

techniques as necessary. 

338, 645, 647

CRP, EQIP, PFW, WHIP

Maintain grasslands for nesting cover by mowing or, when 

possible, by rotationally conducting prescribed burns at 

3- to 5-year intervals. 

338, 645, 647

CRP, EQIP, PFW, WHIP

Delay mowing until August to reduce mortality to 

ground-nesting birds. 

Open up grassland for brood rearing by using patch burning. 645, 647

CRP, EQIP, PFW, WHIP

Disk strips of non-native grassland on a rotational basis near 

breeding and nesting cover at 3- to 5-year intervals to open up 

portions of habitat for foraging and brood rearing. 

645, 647

CRP, EQIP, PFW, WHIP

Overall habitat Avoid creating additional habitat components near areas where 314, 647

domestic poultry are found (to prevent disease transmission).

Minimize predation by maintaining adequate nesting cover and, 

if necessary, removing woody brush and trees that are used as 

cover or hunting perches by predators. CRP, EQIP, PFW, WHIP

Control nest parasitism by removing ring-necked pheasants or 

by removing their eggs from known greater prairie-chicken nests 

prior to hatching. 

Interspersion of Maintain landscape at a 3:1 grassland-to-cropland ratio. 

habitat components Maintain and increase quality habitat components through a 

combination of the above management prescriptions. 

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Greater prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) 

Table 4 NRCS conservation practices.

Code Conservation practice

314 Brush management

327 Conservation cover

329 A,B,C, 344 Residue management

338 Prescribed burning

595 Pest management

645 Upland wildlife management

647 Early successional habitat development

Table 5 Programs that provide technical and financial assistance to develop fish and wildlife habitat on 

private lands 

Program Land eligibility Type of assistance Contact

Conservation Highly erodible land, wet- 50% cost-share for establishing perma- NRCS or FSA 

Reserve Program land, and certain other nent cover and conservation practic- state or local of-

(CRP) lands with cropping his- es, and annual rental payments for land fice

tory. Streamside areas in enrolled in 10- to 15-year contracts. 

pasture land Additional financial incentives for some 

practices

Conservation of Private grazing lands Technical assistance on managing graz- NRCS state or 

Private Grazing ing lands for natural resource pro- local office

Land (CPGL) tection, as well as economic and 

community benefits

Environmental Cropland, range, grazing Up to 75% cost-share for conservation NRCS state or 

Quality Incentives land, and other agricul- practices in accordance with 1- to 10- local office

Program (EQIP) tural land in need of treat- year contracts. Incentive payments for 

ment certain management practices

Partners for Most degraded fish and/or Up to 100% financial and technical assis- Local office of 

Fish and Wildlife wildlife habitat. tance to restored wildlife habitat under the U.S. Fish 

Program (PFW) a minimum 10-year cooperative agree- and Wildlife 

ment Service

Waterways for Private lands Technical and program development as- Wildlife Habitat 

Wildlife sistance to coalesce habitat efforts of Council

corporations and private landowners to 

meet common watershed level goals

Wetlands Reserve Previously degraded wet- 75% cost-share for wetland restoration NRCS state or 

Program (WRP) land and adjacent up- under 10-year contracts and 30-year local office

land buffer, with limited easements, and 100% cost-share on resamount of natural wetland toration under permanent easements. 

and existing or restorable Payments for purchase of 30-year or 

riparian areas permanent conservation easements

Wildlife at Work Corporate lands Technical assistance on developing hab- Wildlife Habitat 

itat projects into programs that allow Council

companies to involve employees and the 

community

Wildlife Habitat High-priority fish and Up to 75% cost-share for conservation NRCS state or 

Incentives wildlife habitats practices under 5-to 10-year contracts local office

Program (WHIP)

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Greater prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido)

References

On-line sources

North Dakota Game and Fish Department. 1996. 

Integrated management of the greater prairie 

chicken and livestock on the Sheyenne National 

Grassland. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/

othrdata/sheyenne/sheyenne.htm

USDA NRCS. 2003. PLANTS Database. http://plants.

usda.gov

U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center. 2003. Maps, Models, and 

Tools for Bird Conservation Planning. http://

www.umesc.usgs.gov/terrestrial/migratory_

birds/5004911_bird_conservation.html

U.S. Geological Survey. 2001. North American Breeding Bird Survey. http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.

gov/bbs/htm96/map617/ra3050.html

Printed sources

Patch-burning: rotational grazing without fences. 

Rangeland Ecology and Management, Oklahoma 

State University, Stillwater, OK.

Bidwell, T., editor. Ecology and management of the 

greater prairie-chicken. Oklahoma Cooperative 

Extension Service, Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Oklahoma State 

University, Stillwater, OK.

Bjugstad, A.J. 1988. Prairie chickens on the Sheyenne 

National Grasslands. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-159. 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rocky Mountain 

Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, CO. 

Elphick, C., J.B. Dunning, and D.A. Sibley, editors. 

2001. The Sibley guide to bird life and behavior. 

Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY.

Fuhlendorf, S.D. and D.M. Engle. 2004. Application 

of the fire-grazing interaction to restore a shifting 

mosaic on tallgrass prairie. Journal of Applied 

Ecology 41:604-614.

Johnsgard, P.A. 2002. Grassland grouse and their conservation. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.

Johnsgard, P.A. 2001. Prairie birds: fragile splendor 

in the Great Plains. University Press of Kansas, 

Lawrence, KS.

Jones, A.L. and P.D. Vickery. 1997. Conserving grassland birds: managing small grasslands including 

conservation lands, corporate headquarters, 

recreation fields, and small landfills for grassland 

birds. Massachusetts Audubon Society, Lincoln, 

MA.

Jones, R.E. 1963. Identification and analysis of lesser 

and greater prairie chicken habitat. Journal of 

Wildlife Management 27: 757-778.

Kirsch, L.M. 1974. Habitat management considerations for prairie chickens. Wildlife Society Bulletin 2: 124-129.

Korschgen, L.J. 1962. Food habits of greater prairie 

chickens in Missouri. The American Midland 

Naturalist 68: 307-318.

Niemuth, N.D. 2000. Land use and vegetation associated with greater prairie-chicken leks in an agricultural landscape. Journal of Wildlife Management 

64: 278-286.

Ryan, M.R., L.W. Burger, Jr., D.P. Jones, and A.P. 

Wywialowski. 1998. Breeding ecology of greater 

prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus cupido) in relation to prairie landscape configuration. American 

Midland Naturalist 140: 111-121.

Sample, D.W. and M.J. Mossman. 1997. Managing 

habitat for grassland birds: a guide for Wisconsin. 

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 

Madison, WI.

Svedarsky, W.D., M.A. Kuchenreuther, G.J. Cuomo, 

P. Buesseler, H. Moechnig, and A. Singh. 2002. A 

landowner’s guide to prairie management in Minnesota. Northwest Research and Outreach Center, 

University of Minnesota, Crookston, MN.

Terres, J.K. 1996. The Audubon Society Encyclopedia

of North American Birds. Random House, New

York, NY.

U.S. Department of Agriculture. 1997. Agricultural 

Resources and Environmental Indicators, 1996-

97. Agricultural Handbook Number 712. USDA 

Economic Research Service, Natural Resources 

and Environment Division. 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1999. Attwater Prairie 

Chicken National Wildlife Refuge. 

Westemeier, R.L., J.E. Buhnerkempe, W.R. Edwards, 

J.D. Brawn, and S.A. Simpson. 1998. Parasitism 

of greater prairie-chicken nests by ring-necked 

pheasants. Journal of Wildlife Management 62: 

854-863.

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Greater prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) 

Natural Resources Conservation 

Service

See you local telephone directory

for a Service Center near you.

The Natural Resources Conservation 

Service provides leadership in a partnership effort to help people conserve, 

maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment.

Wildlife Habitat Council

8737 Colesville Road, Suite 800

Silver Spring, Maryland 20910

(301) 588-8994

The mission of the Wildlife Habitat 

Council is to increase the amount of 

quality wildlife habitat on corporate, 

private, and public land. WHC engages 

corporations, public agencies, and 

private, non-profit organizations on a 

voluntary basis as one team for the recovery, development, and preservation 

of wildlife habitat worldwide.

www.nrcs.usda.gov www.wildlifehc.org

Primary Author: Julie Kates, Wildlife Habitat Council. Drafts of this leaflet were reviewed by Paul Johnsgard, 

University of Nebraska; W. Daniel Svedarsky, University of Minnesota; Jeff Walk, Illinois Department of Natural 

Resources; Roger Applegate, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks; and Terry Bidwell, Oklahoma State 

University. Edited by Charlie Rewa, NRCS, and Maureen Ryan, Wildlife Habitat Council. 

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