BOOK REVIEW: Ecology and Conservation of Lesser Prairie-Chickens, edited by David A. Haukos and Clint W. Boal. 2016.

Authors

Larkin Powell, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

2017

Citation

The Condor: Ornithological Applications, Volume 119, 2017, pp. 631–632

DOI: 10.1650/CONDOR-17-70.1

Comments

Q2017 American Ornithological Society

Abstract

Scholars, conservationists, policymakers, and students will find critical information and a detailed case study on an avian species of conservation concern in this edited volume. Haukos and Boal have gathered work by 29 contributing authors in a well-designed set of 18 chapters that showcases current information about the Lesser Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus). The book is timely in covering this species, which has found itself in the throes of the court system recently, having been designated with federal protection as a threatened species in 2014, only to have the courts vacate the listing rule in 2015, just as this volume went to press. In 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the species from the Federal List of Threatened and Endangered Wildlife in accordance with the court decision. However, in November 2016, the agency determined that a new petition for listing had merit, which suggests further controversy in the future as states with large agricultural interests argue against federal policy intrusion.

Regardless of the status of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken, many chapters in the book are reviews of the best current information for the species on infectious and noninfectious diseases, genetic structure, habitat, harvest, energy development, and climate change. The topics are covered efficiently and with accessible language, which is important, because policymakers will likely become an eager set of users of this book in the near future.