Oklahoma Farm Bureau is hosting a meeting for landowners and other interested parties regarding a stakeholder conservation strategy for the lesser prairie chicken. The meeting will be Thursday, Sept. 5, at 6 p.m. in the Seminar Center at the High Plains Technology Center in Woodward. The meeting is open to the public.
The stakeholder conservation strategy will provide a market-based response to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s proposal to list the lesser prairie chicken as a “threatened” species under the Endangered Species Act and will show how the need for continued energy production translates into a mitigation need.
“If the lesser prairie chicken is listed, oil and gas operations will be required to do mitigation, meaning the operations will need voluntary participation from landowners who can sell mitigation credits to preserve and enhance chicken habitat on their property,” said Marla Peek, OKFB director of regulatory affairs.
Successful implementation of the strategy will allow private landowners to develop alternative income streams in exchange for the implementation of habitat conservation and management practices that benefit the species, facilitating the continuation of valuable oil and gas activity within the lesser prairie chicken range. The strategy will also provide beneficial habitat preservation and restoration for the species.
“The lesser prairie chicken continues to be an issue in northwest Oklahoma, and Oklahoma Farm Bureau is committed to helping landowners protect their rights and develop meaningful policies that will benefit all parties involved,” Peek said.
For additional information, contact Peek at (405) 523-2437.
