Lesser Prairie Chicken Spatial Planning Tool

The Oklahoma Lesser Prairie Chicken Spatial Planning Tool was developed through a cooperative effort by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, Oklahoma Secretary of Environment, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, Oklahoma State University Extension Service, G.M. Sutton Avian Research Center, and the Playa Lakes Joint Venture.  In addition to helping to determine areas where development would least impact prairie chickens, the Spatial Planning Tool also can be used in assessing the cost of developments within the Lesser Prairie-Chicken’s range, as well as to prioritize areas and costs for prairie chicken habitat restoration and recovery efforts. If it is necessary to site a project or structure in an area that will impact lesser prairie chickens, developers will hopefully use the tool to determine a voluntary contribution to offset the impacts of that development.

The Oklahoma Lesser Prairie Chicken Spatial Planning Tool, available on the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s website at http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/lepcdevelopmentplanning.htm, is provided in formats compatible with both GIS (.img) and Google Earth (.kmz). Maps in both 8.5” x 14” and 33” x 44” are also available.