The landscape of Curry County, New Mexico, located in the eastern part of the state, has undergone quite a turnaround since the mid-1980's when the county had its largest sign-up under the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Today, Curry County is composed of a mosaic of highly productive cropland, vibrant rangeland, and 209,290 acres of CRP land. This represents more than one-third of New Mexico's 597,197 acres of CRP land.

In recent years, across the southwestern United States, wildlife habitat improvement has been a hot topic for farmers and ranchers, environmental groups, and developers. Federal and state biologists and managers have begun to recognize the tremendous contribution that CRP lands are making across the nation in enhancing and improving the needs and survival of wildlife habitat. The real shift in management philosophy was initiated in the mid-1980's by the long term positive trends of the whole suite of bird species that share the need for CRP land. Curry County is no exception to this trend. The county has begun catching the eye of many wildlife biologists who have begun to recognize an increase in the Lesser Prairie Chicken (LPC) population in the northern part of Curry County.

These days, if you are an avid bird watcher, you will perk up as you travel through Curry County. Across the countryside, LPCs brighten the mood of the local bird watchers, farmers, and tourists with their annual breeding rituals, which are a spectacular courting display and a highly valued observance. The late spring and early summer is the time of year when just the act of stepping outside and hearing the breeding call of the male LPC is all it takes to make the day complete. The male's booming call resonates through the air and can be heard a mile away. This booming call explains why the LPC courting areas are called booming grounds.

Native grass is a major habitat component for the LPC. CRP and its preferred conservation practices have allowed native grass to flourish on Curry County CRP acreage. During its onset, New Mexico's CRP was not developed to aid in the survival of the LPC. But there is no doubt that CRP activity has definitely contributed to increasing the odds for LPC survival in Curry County and across this nation's southwestern states. A local producer in Curry County stated, "The first time I saw the LPC on the family farm was in 1992, but my grandfather homesteaded the area in the 1930's and used to speak of the vast populations of chickens." This is just one of many instances of farmers starting to see an increase in sightings throughout the county. Additionally, local biologists that have worked with LPCs have documented evidence of LPCs using CRP acres in northern Curry County.

Adequate cover remains among the greatest factors affecting LPC populations, and the continued loss of shrub/grassland habitat remains the greatest threat to the LPC's future. CRP has been vital for Curry County in preserving these grassland communities and properly managing rangelands, which in turn are helping landowners boost local LPC populations, as well as populations of other species that rely on similar habitat.

Often, while promoting and discussing CRP and upland game habitat management, we are asked numerous conservation questions such as: "Can LPC populations recover and not be listed as endangered?" and "Do these CRP habitat improvements really work?" While there are certainly many great success stories on CRP fields across the country, Curry County, New Mexico, and the LPC utilizing CRP land are a success story that can be enjoyed by all Americans.

CRP acreage in Curry County, New Mexico, provides high quality habitat for Lesser Prairie Chicken and other upland game bird species.