{"id":35259,"date":"2022-10-13T09:00:51","date_gmt":"2022-10-13T14:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=35259"},"modified":"2022-10-13T10:04:48","modified_gmt":"2022-10-13T15:04:48","slug":"what-more-can-be-done-to-save-the-lesser-prairie-chicken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2022\/10\/13\/what-more-can-be-done-to-save-the-lesser-prairie-chicken\/","title":{"rendered":"What more can be done to save the Lesser Prairie-Chicken?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"width: 100%; height: 200px; margin-bottom: 20px; border-radius: 6px; overflow: hidden;\"><iframe style=\"width: 100%; height: 200px;\" src=\"https:\/\/player.captivate.fm\/episode\/857a70f8-d51d-4fc3-b78d-0c3ff6196866\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mark Gardiner\u2019s ranch in southwestern Kansas has seen a few changes over the last 130 years it\u2019s been in the family. What began as a 160-acre homestead would eventually swell to more than 48,000 acres of ranchland where Angus cattle can be seen grazing under a seemingly endless sky.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But one thing has stayed constant at the Gardiner Angus Ranch: the presence of a certain rare, dancing bird \u2014 the Lesser Prairie-Chicken.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_35260\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 672px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-35260 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9620-672x448.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9620-672x448.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9620-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9620-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9620-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9620-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9620-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9620-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9620-1620x1080.jpg 1620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9620.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Beth Wallis\/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mark Gardiner stands on his family&#8217;s generational ranch.<\/p>\n<\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThere\u2019s prairie chickens over our entire ranch, and I\u2019ve seen them ever since I was a kid,\u201d Gardiner said. \u201cFortunately, this is one of the largest and one of the best prairie chicken populations \u2014 not only in Kansas, but anywhere.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Lesser Prairie-Chicken is a grouse living in the southern and central high plains of the U.S. It\u2019s known for its elaborate mating dance in which males raise their feathers, gobble and stomp their feet at a rate of up to 17 stomps per second, creating a drumroll on the prairie ground.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This June, part of the Gardiner Angus Ranch became an official safe haven for the imperiled bird. Through the use of a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fws.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/conservation-banking.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">permanent conservation easement<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Gardiner gave up his family\u2019s development rights for part of the land \u2014 guaranteeing its status as a permanent, maintained habitat for the grouse. Habitat fragmentation has been one of the main drivers of the bird\u2019s population decline.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">About 90% of the chicken&#8217;s historical range no longer exists, and according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the grouse\u2019s population numbers are concerning: of the two separate populations of Lesser Prairie-Chicken, one is likely to go extinct and the other is likely to become endangered in short order.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In June 2021, the USFWS proposed to list the bird \u2014 a move that would\u2019ve triggered significant federal protections for it. However, the Service has yet to finalize its proposal to do so, despite its June 2022 deadline.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the USFWS initially agreed to an interview for this story, the Service was not able to schedule it before publication.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_35263\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 672px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-35263 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9594-672x448.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9594-672x448.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9594-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9594-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9594-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9594-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9594-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9594-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9594-1620x1080.jpg 1620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9594.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Beth Wallis\/StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">The landscape of the Gardiner Angus Ranch. The ranch is prime prairie chicken habitat, with plenty of grass, shrubs to provide cover from the sun and no tall structures that predatory birds can hide in.<\/p>\n<\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now, the USFWS is facing a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/biologicaldiversity.org\/w\/news\/press-releases\/lawsuit-launched-to-protect-lesser-prairie-chicken-from-extinction-2022-08-11\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lawsuit from the Center for Biological Diversity<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for delaying the prairie chicken\u2019s status listing, despite a recent aerial survey showing a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/journalrecord.com\/2022\/08\/12\/as-feds-delay-advocates-work-to-protect-rare-bird\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">20% decline<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the bird\u2019s population over just the last two years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Given the bird\u2019s major habitat areas in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.currentargus.com\/story\/news\/2022\/08\/17\/oil-and-gas-impacts-lead-to-lawsuit-on-lesser-prairie-chicken-protection\/65400461007\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">prime oil and gas country<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Michael Robinson with the Center for Biological Diversity said the delay comes down to one thing:<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cPolitical influence,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cWhen animals and plants are squeezed into some of their last homes and their previous habitats have already been developed, their remaining habitat is often desired to be exploited by corporations. (&#8230;) And in the case of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken, the energy development, agriculture, [and] so many causes have led to its decline. As in so many other cases, political influence delayed it to the point where extinction becomes a lot more likely.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fisheries.noaa.gov\/national\/endangered-species-conservation\/listing-species-under-endangered-species-act\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Endangered Species Act<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, listing determinations are to be based solely on the best scientific and commercial information available \u2013 and not economic impacts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the USFWS ultimately decides to list the Lesser Prairie-Chicken, industries will be required to mitigate their development impacts through conservation measures. But if the delay continues or the bird is never listed, advocates say this rare, dancing bird is running out of time.<\/span><\/p><p><b>Where did the Lesser Prairie-Chicken go?<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This isn\u2019t the first time the Lesser Prairie-Chicken has become a candidate for the Endangered Species List.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The USFWS listed the bird as threatened in April 2014. That means the Service believed the species would likely become endangered in the foreseeable future. In 2015, that decision was reversed after significant pushback from the oil and gas industry, and in 2016, the grouse was delisted by the Service.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a lawsuit, the Permian Basin Petroleum Association and four New Mexico counties argued the Service didn\u2019t account for the existing conservation efforts already at work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_35262\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 518px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-35262\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/2-518x672.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"518\" height=\"672\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/2-518x672.png 518w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/2-1481x1920.png 1481w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/2-768x996.png 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/2-1185x1536.png 1185w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/2-1580x2048.png 1580w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/2-116x150.png 116w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/2-231x300.png 231w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/2-620x804.png 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/2-833x1080.png 833w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/2.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 518px) 100vw, 518px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">The habitat range of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken.<\/p>\n<\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other conservation efforts have stepped in, in lieu of an endangered listing. The USDA created a Conservation Reserve Program where landowners get paid to not use their land for crops, but rather to plant native grasses and forbs to benefit dwindling species populations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the program has shown success in expanding habitat range for the prairie chicken, it\u2019s facing significant long term challenges due to contracts with landowners only lasting 10-15 years. Enrollment in the program has <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iwla.org\/publications\/blog\/blog\/soil-matters\/2020\/11\/09\/crp-enrollment-falls-for-13th-straight-year#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20Department%20of%20Agriculture,13th%20straight%20year%20of%20decline.\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">dropped every year for 13 years<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> straight.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Current numbers are close to where they were when the program began, in part due to the USDA slashing payments to landowners. Without enough financial incentive to turn down oil and gas development or use the land for farmland, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/310840793_Conservation_Reserve_Program_mitigates_grassland_loss_in_the_lesser_prairie-chicken_range_of_Kansas\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">advocates and researchers worry<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the gains made through the program over the years will be short-lived.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wayne Walker serves as the Principal of the conservation organization Common Ground Capital LLC, which manages the easement at the Gardiner ranch. He said it often comes down to money.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cLandowners wake up every morning and they\u2019ve got to make a living on their ranch. And if someone knocks on their door willing to pay down for some of their services or willing to buy their ranch and develop it, that\u2019s a market-based discussion,\u201d Walker said. \u201cYou\u2019re competing with wind development, you\u2019re competing with ranch development, you\u2019re competing with livestock, etcetera.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another strategy comes from the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA). In 2013, WAFWA, in partnership with state fish and wildlife agencies, finalized a Range-wide Conservation Plan and later developed a companion oil and gas Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances in 2014.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Through that, oil and gas companies sign agreements to limit development impacts of projects located within Lesser Prairie-Chicken habitats and to mitigate \u201cunavoidable\u201d impacts. Private landowners sign agreements through WAFWA to restore and manage their land so it benefits the species. Those landowners are paid from a system in which industry developers voluntarily purchase mitigation credits.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But according to a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wafwa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/LPCRWP_AnnualReport_2019.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2019 audit ordered by WAFWA<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the agency\u2019s mitigation plan was fraught with issues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The audit raised questions of significant financial mismanagement and found that because of temporary conservation contracts and undercharging for mitigation fees, among other issues, \u201cthe program as currently structured and operated does not provide a net gain in conservation.\u201d WAFWA\u2019s itemized response to the audit <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biologicaldiversity.org\/species\/birds\/pdfs\/2019-WAFWA-Annual-Report-Audit-Rebuttal.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">can be found here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the Center for Conservation Innovation at Defenders of Wildlife, over 200,000 acres of impacts <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/defenders-cci.org\/files\/LPC_habitat_CCI.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">have not been mitigated by WAFWA<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The Center estimates <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/defenders.org\/newsroom\/no-time-waste-lesser-prairie-chicken-needs-endangered-species-protections-now\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">almost 1 million acres<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of Lesser Prairie-Chicken habitat has been lost or fragmented for oil, agriculture and other commercial development.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WAFWA declined an interview with StateImpact, but responded in an email:<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOur operations under the [Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances] are transparent and continue to operate under full compliance of the permit issued for our CCAA,\u201d wrote Zach Lowe, the executive director of WAFWA. Lowe provided a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wafwa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/WAFWA-2021-LPC-CCAA-Annual-Report-03.31.2022.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">link to the organization\u2019s most recent annual report<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which said WAFWA is currently in compliance with 26 of the 27 requirements for the agreement.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are other conservation efforts for the Lesser Prairie-Chicken, including a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.federalregister.gov\/documents\/2021\/06\/01\/2021-11442\/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-lesser-prairie-chicken-threatened-status-with-section#h-45\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">variety of state-based initiatives<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. But according to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ecos.fws.gov\/ServCat\/DownloadFile\/200539\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Species Status Assessment<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from the USFWS, Lesser Prairie-Chicken population decline is expected to continue \u201ceven when accounting for ongoing and future conservation efforts.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Though the USFWS could designate Lesser Prairie-Chicken range as critical habitat \u2014 which provides significant federal protections for habitat land but also <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.huntonak.com\/images\/content\/3\/2\/v3\/3295\/A-Wider-View-of-the-Impacts-of-Critical-Habitat-Designation.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">creates headaches for developers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fws.gov\/press-release\/2021-05\/service-seeks-comment-proposal-list-lesser-prairie-chicken-under-endangered?ref=service-seeks-comment-on-proposal-to-list-the-lesser-prairie-chicken-&_ID=36914\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">said it is \u201cprudent,\u201d to do so<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the Service said that designation isn\u2019t \u201cdeterminable at this time.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><b>The business of conservation<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the Gardiner Angus Ranch, a different kind of conservation game is at play. Though it took 10 years of negotiations, Mark Gardiner worked with Common Ground Capital to come up with an agreement for a permanent conservation easement that will exist for the Lesser Prairie-Chicken in perpetuity.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stephanie Manes is a biologist with decades of experience in Lesser Prairie-Chicken conservation and serves as a consultant for Common Ground Capital. She said with the agreement, a landowner extinguishes their development rights.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cFor example, you can\u2019t have a paved parking lot and have conservation values on the same property,\u201d Manes said. \u201cThey\u2019re mutually exclusive.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once the credits are sold and the easement put down, they go into a trust to fund maintenance projects in perpetuity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_35264\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 672px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-35264\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9601-672x448.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9601-672x448.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9601-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9601-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9601-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9601-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9601-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9601-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9601-1620x1080.jpg 1620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9601.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Beth Wallis\/StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cattle graze on a hot summer day at the Gardiner Angus Ranch in Ashland, Kansas.<\/p>\n<\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Walker, with Common Ground Capital, said of about 15 remaining prairie chicken strongholds left, his organization has four of them under option with landowners. Common Ground Capital has secured 75,000 acres of option agreements across three states.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the USFWS decides to list the Lesser Prairie-Chicken, Walker predicts more industry participants, including renewable energy, will get on board with Common Ground Capital\u2019s process. For now though, that\u2019s still up in the air.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cUnfortunately, sometimes it takes these regulatory decisions to draw folks to participate,\u201d Walker said. \u201cSo obviously, [by delaying the decision] the Service is creating uncertainty for all parties, anywhere they go.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For Gardiner, the conservation agreement has provided economic assurance for his ranch, even when markets prove volatile.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhere [ranchers] often get in trouble is when there\u2019s a financial crunch,\u201d Gardiner said. \u201cAnd so they decide, \u2018Well, I need to push it a little bit harder this year,\u2019 or there\u2019s a drought. And of course, it could be economically devastating to sell when prices are low. So that\u2019s one thing that conservation banking can really help with.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gardiner said the conservation easement hasn\u2019t changed much of his day-to-day ranch life. He took down some windmill towers and mows the grass, but ultimately, he said he was already taking care of the land. Now, he just gets paid for it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What\u2019s good for the prairie chicken, he said, is good for him. And while there\u2019s no way to know if the Service will eventually list the bird, his conservation easement, at least, provides this population of Lesser Prairie-Chickens with a permanent safe haven.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe like the ecosystem to be balanced,\u201d Gardiner said. \u201cIf it\u2019s balanced for the wildlife, it\u2019s going to be good for the cattle too. (&#8230;) I guess I was fearful at first that, you know, prairie chickens are important, but people are too. And so making sure that the people and the cattle and all that could work together, it became an opportunity that we were excited about and happy to be part of.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_35265\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 672px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-35265\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9596-672x448.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9596-672x448.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9596-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9596-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9596-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9596-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9596-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9596-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9596-1620x1080.jpg 1620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/10\/IMG_9596.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Beth Wallis\/StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">The prairie grassland on the Gardiner Angus Ranch meets the seemingly endless sky in Ashland, Kansas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mark Gardiner\u2019s ranch in southwestern Kansas has seen a few changes over the last 130 years it\u2019s been in the family. What began as a 160-acre homestead would eventually swell to more than 48,000 acres of ranchland where Angus cattle can be seen grazing under a seemingly endless sky.\u00a0But one thing has stayed constant at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":216,"featured_media":35261,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[492,490,491,301,14,16],"tags":[1466,602,1464,1465,603,1389],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35259"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/216"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35259"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35280,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35259\/revisions\/35280"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}