Within the five states of its range (Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, and Colorado), the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus, LEPC) remains present on sand sagebrush (Artemesia filifolia), mixed- and short- grass prairies of western Kansas and eastern Colorado, through portions of northwest Oklahoma, the northeast Texas panhandle, and into the shinnery oak (Quercus havardii) and sand sagebrush habitat of eastern New Mexico and western Texas. Agencies in these states monitor LEPC breeding populations annually within the known occupied range of the species, however, monitoring efforts have differed markedly among agencies and inferences have been made about populations using a variety of methods. This variation in survey methods and effort complicates attempts to understand LEPC population size and trends, and makes comparisons among areas difficult. Our objectives were to develop common, statistically robust survey and analysis methods to monitor LEPC population size and trends within the region and apply those methods in a pilot study in spring of 2012.
