Although Playa Lakes Joint Venture is focused on habitat work, it never escapes us how important basic biological research can be. We were reminded of this again during a three-year, multi-partner restoration project designed to connect blocks of Lesser Prairie-Chicken habitat by reclaiming abandoned oil and gas roads and well pads in southeastern New Mexico. While the original and primary goal of the project was to remove infrastructure that may be limiting habitat for the species, it also funded lek surveys that discovered a large number of new leks — data that were used by both the New Mexico State Land Office and New Mexico Department of Game and Fish to strengthen Lesser Prairie-Chicken conservation efforts.
Over a three-year period, biologists surveyed more than 80,000 acres within the Lesser Prairie-Chicken range during the two-month breeding season. In the first two years, surveyors covered areas within the bird’s core range and discovered 38 new leks, 26 of them on New Mexico state trust land. This last spring, they surveyed areas outside of the core range and foudn an additional 24 leks, 23 of which were on State Land Office land.
“Having these additional lek locations allowed the Department to refine the core areas and corridors between the core areas for its portion of the five-state Lesser Prairie-Chicken recovery plan,” says biologist Grant Beauprez.
Learn more: http://pljv.org/news/playa-post/august-2013#story3
