It was a calm March morning when Dan Leuenberger first heard it: echoing calls of greater prairie chickens.
Climbing a hill on his Johnson County farm, he spotted a flock of about 20 birds gathered for mating season. Each spring, males congregate on display grounds called "leks" to perform mating rituals that have made the species an icon of the prairie. They stomp, leap, spin in circles, inflate orange air sacs on their neck and raise feathers on their head, all in hopes of attracting females.
Seeing the birds was an exciting moment for Leuenberger. The previous year, he had set out to do something conservation professionals say is rare: create a successful prairie chicken lek on private property from scratch.
When Leuenberger inherited 91 acres of the family farm in Southeast Nebraska, he decided to put it into the Conservation Reserve Program, which provides landowners with rental payments for taking land out of agricultural production and instead restoring grassland habitat.
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He enrolled some of his cropland in the State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement, an option under CRP, to create prairie chicken habitat. He met with Anna Ferguson, a resource conservationist for the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, to plan how to establish, manage and maintain the project. Together, they came up with the idea to create a prairie chicken lek on Leuenberger’s property
Leuenberger and Jim Neville, his bird hunting partner, knew prairie chickens were already in the area because Leuenberger spotted them occasionally. But would those birds actually use a man-made lek? It’s rare for that to happen, experts say.
“Creating a suitable lek location — a high spot with short grass — doesn’t necessarily translate into prairie chickens using it,†said John Laux, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s upland game program manager.
Ferguson and Bruce Sprague, a Pheasants Forever Farm Bill biologist, began drawing up plans, setting aside 4 acres on a hilltop for the lek. Sprague selected a seeding mix of shorter-growing alfalfa, blue grama and several types of clover for the lek, and situated other habitat components — brood rearing cover, nesting cover and winter cover — with the lek in mind.
They also asked Leuenberger to mow the lek to keep the vegetation short and inviting for the chickens. Ferguson suggested he remove a nearby grove of cottonwoods, which could attract predators.
Leuenberger completed preparations in 2017, and the following spring, Ferguson received an exciting email from him: The birds had come, along with pictures of them on the lek.
Since then, Leuenberger sees about 20 greater prairie chickens at the lek each spring. “It just makes a person feel good that you contributed to this project — that maybe you’re doing something good for them,†he said.
In Nebraska, greater prairie chickens are considered an at-risk species. They are losing their native grassland habitat to agricultural expansion and other development, tree encroachment and invasive plants, such as smooth brome. Populations have declined throughout much of their range, but the birds continue to thrive in portions of Nebraska.
Small remnant populations of prairie chickens occur in a number of counties in Southeast Nebraska, where Leuenberger lives. Grassland habitat is much more limited there compared to the Sandhills, but well-managed CRP fields like Leuenberger’s provide the species with important habitat.
Landowners interested in improving habitat for greater prairie-chickens can contact their local USDA Service Center or Game and Parks district office or service center.
Leuenberger has established two viewing blinds on his property so he can share the excitement of seeing the birds with friends and family. The coronavirus pandemic halted some of the first viewings, but he’s hopeful others can join him in the blinds this year.
