Home / Environment / Texas Landowners Saved Prairie Chicken From Extinction
Texas Landowners Saved Prairie Chicken From Extinction
28 Aug
Summary
- Families sold land below market value for conservation.
- 3,500 acres created foundation for national refuge.
- Prairie chicken population remains critically low today.
In 1965, two ranching families in Colorado County, Texas, significantly impacted conservation history. The Duncan and Wintermann families agreed to sell 3,500 acres of their land for approximately half its market value, donating the remaining worth to preserve a critical grassland habitat. This selfless act laid the groundwork for the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge.
The preserve, initially 3,500 acres, grew through federal conservation efforts. Established in 1972 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge now spans over 11,000 acres. This expansion aimed to protect the endangered bird and its coastal prairie environment, which had dwindled due to agricultural development.
Despite the refuge's growth, the Attwater's prairie-chicken population continued its decline statewide. By the mid-1990s, fewer than 160 birds remained in the wild. A captive-breeding program was launched to bolster the population, with birds regularly released onto the refuge.
Today, the Attwater's prairie-chicken's future remains uncertain, with fewer than 200 birds in the wild across Texas. The families' remarkable land sale in 1965 remains a vital, though often overlooked, contribution to ongoing conservation efforts.
