U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Attwater’s Prairie-chicken

Recovery Program

Questions and Answers

What is an Attwater’s prairie-chicken?

A chicken-sized bird that inhabits

native coastal prairie habitat. Actually a

grouse, this bird was once very

numerous throughout coastal

grasslands of Texas and southwest

Louisiana. Although an estimated 1

million Attwater’s prairie-chickens

existed over a century ago, fewer than

50 remain in the wild today.

Why did Attwater’s prairie-chicken

numbers decline?

Like many endangered species , the

long-term decline of Attwater’s prairiechickens is due to habitat loss. Today,

less than 1% of the once expansive

coastal prairies that the Attwater’s call

home remain in relatively pristine

condition. As the prairie became more

fragmented, catastrophic weather,

parasites, disease, inbreeding, fire ants,

and other factors increased their effects

on prairie-chicken populations.

What is being done to help them out?

Immediate intervention in the shortterm is needed in the short-term to

prevent the impending extinction of

this critically imperilled bird. To that

end, an aggressive captive-breeding

program is underway to provide birds

for release into the wild to bolster

dangerously small populations. A longterm solution will require strategic

restoration of prairie habitat within the

prairie-chicken’s historic range. This

restoration will be accomplished

through a combination of partnerships

(several already underway) with

willing landowners (See Safe Harbor/

HCP for the Gulf Coast Prairies of

Texas). It must be stressed that all

recovery activities potentially affecting

private landowners will be undertaken

only with the full consent of those

landowners.

Is there a recovery plan and a recovery

team?

Yes. A multi-stakeholder recovery team

has been appointed that is composed of

university researchers, state and

federal agency representatives,

conservation organizations, captive

breeding facilities, and landowner

representatives. The final recovery

plan, developed by the recovery team

and approved by the Fish and Wildlife

Service, was revised in 1993 and lists

the strategies necessary to recovery the

species.

Why is the Attwater’s prairie-chicken

important?

Biologically speaking, the Attwater’s

prairie-chicken is an indicator of the

health of the environment it inhabits.

Specifically, it indicates that the coastal

prairie ecosystem is not doing well.

Although the loss of this species or the

coastal prairie ecosystem may not

impact the average person today, their

loss will be added to the many other

systems already affected or threatened

by humans.

From an economic standpoint, ecotourism is rapidly becoming a multibillion dollar industry in Texas. Visitors

from all over the world come to the

Attwater Prairie-chicken National

Wildlife Refuge specifically to view

prairie-chickens. In the process, they

stay in local motels, fuel their cars at

local gas stations, eat at local

restaurants - all of which pumps money

into local economies.

What is the public’s attitudes toward

the Attwater’s prairie-chicken recovery

program?

In general, the public’s attitude is very

supportive of these efforts. Tourists

visiting the Refuge to view prairiechickens are increasing and support the

restoration efforts. Public events

devoted to the prairie-chicken have

been very well attended. For example,

the sixth annual Attwater’s Prairiechicken Festival sponsored by the

community of Eagle Lake, Texas and

APC NWR will be held April 7 - 9,

2000. One of the purposes of this

festival is to raise the public’s

awareness of this critically endangered

species.

How important is captive-rearing and

release to recovery of the Attwater’s

prairie-chicken?

Current populations (less than 50 total,

distributed among two widely

separated areas) are almost certainly

below minimally viable levels over the

long-term. Computer simulations

suggest that release of captively-reared

birds is essential to averting the

immediate extinction threat facing this

critically endangered species. Having

birds in a captive setting also prevents

the possible extinction of the species

due to a disease outbreak or extreme

weather that could severely affect the

wild population.

Who is involved in the captive

breeding/release program?

This effort has been a shining example

of cooperation among several

organizations. Breeding facilities

include the Houston Zoo, Fossil Rim

Wildlife Center, San Antonio Zoo,

Texas A&M University, Sea World of

Texas, and the Abilene Zoo. The U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service, Texas Parks

and Wildlife Department, and The

Nature Conservancy of Texas have

provided financial and logistical

support. Other groups providing

support include Boy Scout troops #1001

(Rosenberg, TX) and #261

(Friendswood, TX), Adopt-A-Prairiechicken donors, and the Tom Waddell

Outdoor Nature Club, to name a few.
How is this program funded?

Funding for this program has been

provided by Section 6 of the

Endangered Species Act, Challenge

Cost-Share Agreements, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service contracts, Texas Parks

and Wildlife Department funds,

conservation foundations, and private

donations through the Adopt-APrairie-chicken program.

How many captive Attwater’s prairiechickens are there?

Approximately 100 Attwater’s prairiechickens are currently being held in

breeding facilities. These individuals

are used as breeding stock in order to

produce additional young for release

into the wild.

What are some of the challenges to

raising these birds in captivity?

Captive breeding endangered species

can be a challenging task since the zoo

managers want to ensure that any

losses or other negative effects to the

population are kept to a minimum.

Regular health checks help zoo

managers monitor individuals.

Ensuring that the birds have the right

setting, including the diet, size of

enclosure, and environmental

conditions for the birds to breed, can be

very challenging task. Any captive

breeding program is susceptible to

disease that could affect the entire

population. Texas A&M University is

continuing research on the

reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV), a

deadly virus that attacks the bird’s

immune system. Pinpointing the source

of the disease and how it is transmitted

are major questions that need to be

answered to assist captive breeding

efforts.

Where will these birds be released?

A two-phase approach will be used.

First, existing populations will be

supplemented near the Attwater

Prairie-chicken NWR in Austin and

Colorado Counties and the Galveston

Bay Prairie Preserve in Galveston

County. Phase two will involve release

of birds into unoccupied habitats within

their historic range. Sites currently

under consideration for phase two

include the Brazoria National Wildlife

Refuge (Brazoria County, TX), the

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

(Aransas County), and the Mad Island

Preserve (Matagorda County) as well

as private lands when feasible. All

releases will involve only willing

participants.

What is the status of the releases thus

far?

A total of 167 Attwater’s prairiechickens have been released into the

wild since 1995 (an average of 41 per

year) at the Attwater Prairie-chicken

NWR, Colorado County and Nature

Conservancy of Texas’ Galveston Bay

Prairie Preserve, Galveston County.

One hundred birds will be released in

1999. Survival of released captivereared birds to the following breeding

season has been better than expected

(45% average), providing realistic

prospects for restoration of diminished

populations.

When will releases occur on areas

other than the Attwater Prairie-chicken

NWR or the Galveston Bay Prairie

Preserve?

It is hard to say. The goal of the release

program is to supplement existing

populations in imminent danger of

extinction first. This also depends on

the number of birds produced in

captivity to be released. It may take

several years to stabilize the

populations at the Attwater Prairiechicken NWR and Galveston Bay

Preserve.

How will releasing these birds, which

are protected under the Endangered

Species Act, affect landowners?

Releases will be conducted so as to

minimize regulatory impacts to local

landowners. Several ‘tools’ are available

to accomplish this objective, including

Safe Harbor Agreements (See Safe

Harbor/HCP for the Gulf Coast Prairie

of Texas). This program encourages

restoration, conservation, and/or

enhancement of prairie habitats while

providing a “safe harbor” from future

liabilities under the Endangered

Species Act.

Where did the Attwater’s prairiechicken get its name

Henry Philemon Attwater (1854-1931)

was born in Brighton, England and

emigrated to Canada when he was 19.

After collecting trips to the Rio Grande

he eventually moved to Texas and

between 1884-1885, supervised the

Texas natural history exhibit at the

World’s Fair in New Orleans. An

amateur naturalist for most of his life,

including his retirement, he contributed

to the knowledge and conservation of

birds in southern Texas. Four small

mammals are also named in his honor.

U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service

4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Rm. 420

Arlington, VA 22202

703/358 2171

http://www.fws.gov