Lesser Prairie-Chicken public viewing site closed this year

I just got word that due to a serious decline in the population of Lesser Prairie-Chickens on the Comanche National Grassland. I strongly support appropriate restrictions to protect this very small population of a species listed as Threatened by the State of Colorado. SeEtta Here is the official notice:

COLORADO NATIONAL GRASSLAND LESSER PRAIRIE-CHICKEN
VIEWING AREA TEMPORARILY CLOSING THIS SPRING

Springfield, Colo., January 9, 2008 – The U.S. Forest Service, Comanche National Grassland will be closing the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Viewing Area during March through May, 2008. This is a temporary closure because the bird’s population has declined significantly in Baca County. The 2007 Baca County lek count showed 22 individual birds, down from 48 the year before.
The U.S. Forest Service will not allow the public, including bird tour groups, to utilize the site during March through May, 2008. The area of closure is along FS Road 545, between County Road C through G, approximately 12 miles east of Campo, Colorado.
The viewing area is typically open for the public to watch the mating dances of the male prairie chicken on the lek (displaying, courtship area) each spring. Because the number of Lesser prairie-chickens was down significantly during the 2007 mating season, U.S. Forest Service biologists made the recommendation to temporarily close the site. The hotter, drier spring and winter storms of 2006-2007 likely caused the estimated 46% drop in prairie-chicken numbers in Baca County.
According to Comanche Ranger Jeff Stoney, “While we have no evidence that the viewing area is contributing to the bird’s decline, this move will decrease the amount of disturbance on a population that is already at a critically low level.” The effort to increase bird numbers is supported by the Division of Wildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Cimarron National Grassland near Elkhart, Kansas plans to have two Lesser Prairie-Chicken Viewing Areas open to the public where more birds survived the winter storm. For more information on the Kansas sites visit: http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/psicc/cim/cim_lpc.shtml

Lesser Prairie-Chicken dancing starts soon

It's time to make reservations for private viewing of Lesser Prairie-Chickens se of Lamar with the Dorenkamps, the couple who run Arena Dust Tours. As I have said when I promoted these tours before, I have no financial interest in this enterprise and am not related to the Dorenkamps. I just met them last year at a Colorado Birding Trail meeting. Like the few other businesses I provide links for (on the right side of the page), I like to help out those who provide exceptional service and, in this case, a great birding opportunity. Also, these folks are a part of the Colorado Birding Trail.

The Dorenkamps are ranch couple who fit the description "salt of the earth" (defined by Wikipedia as "decent, dependable and unpretentious"). They provide tours on private property to see displaying Lesser Prairie-Chickens, a species of special concern. They have access to several sites so if the birds are not displaying on one site, they will take visitors to one of the alternate sites. Fred Dorenkamp monitors the birds so knows how many birds have been showing up at each location. They now even have a bed and breakfast.

The alternative, the public lek provided on the Comanche National Grasslands(this is a very informative webs site), while free can be quite daunting. As it is required that visitors arrive at the lek site no later than 1 hour before sunrise/or remain until 1 hour after sunset, it is necessary to drive for sunrise viewing in the dark or drive back in the dark after sunset viewing. It is about a 45 minute drive to the public lek from Springfield, which is closest location for lodging, and a lot of driving on dark, sandy county roads with several turns not well marked (and the sand can be deep causing problems similar to hydro-planing plus there are drop-offs at the edge of the roads down there). It is advisable to do a dry run during daylight hours to find the route when signs can be seen as one doesn't want to make the wrong turn into some farmer's field where they can be stuck in the mud or sand, possibly miles from any human habitation.

The way Arena Dust tours work is that you drive to the Dorenkamps and park your vehicle safely on their property. Visitors are driven to the lek site so they don't have to worry about getting to the correct location or getting stuck. After the viewing the courtship dances of the Lesser Prairie-Chickens is over, visitors will be able to see other local birds on the way back and Fred will tell visitors about the area and it's history. Fred has a wealth of experience and is very knowledgeable about the land and it's history.

The Dorenkamps charged $50/person last year and I suspect the fee this year will be not too different. The third option for viewing Lesser Prairie-Chickens is to join one of the professional tour groups that have trips to view all Colorado grouse. They charged between $2,100 to $2,500 per person for these 9-10 day statewide tours or $1,500 for a 7 day specialized tour last year.

It's time to finalize plans as these "chickens" start diplaying in a week or so.
SeEtta

Lesser Prairie-Chicken viewing

I just got an email from Fred and Norma Dorenkamp letting everyone know that they are taking reservations for Lesser Prairie-Chicken viewing that they provide via their Arena Dust Tours . Ok, so Lesser Prairie-Chickens don't start "displaying" until mid March, but if you are traveling to SE Colorado and Lesser Prairie-Chickens are target birds for you it's good idea to get your reservation in early to secure the date(s) you want.

I have no financial interest in this enterprise and am not related to the Dorenkamps. I just met them last year at a Colorado Birding Trail meeting. Like the few other businesses I provide links for (on the right side of the page), I like to help out those who provide exceptional service and, in this case, a great birding opportunity. Also, these folks are a part of the Colorado Birding Trail, which is (finally) scheduled to be launched next month at the Lamar Snow Goose Festival (I will post on that separately).

The Dorenkamps are ranch couple who fit the description "salt of the earth" (defined by Wikipedia as "decent, dependable and unpretentious"). They provide tours on private property to see displaying Lesser Prairie-Chickens, a species of special concern. They have access to several sites so if the birds are not displaying on one site, they will take visitors to one of the alternate sites. Fred Dorenkamp monitors the birds so knows how many birds have been showing up at each location. The alternative, the public lek provided on the Comanche National Grasslands, while free can be quite daunting. As it is required that visitors
arrive at the lek site no later than 1 hour before sunrise/or remain until 1 hour after sunset, it is necessary to drive for sunrise viewing in the dark or drive back in the dark after sunset viewing. It is about a 45 minute drive to the public lek from Springfield, which is closest location for lodging, and a lot of driving on dark, sandy county roads with several turns not well marked (and the sand can be deep causing problems similar to hydro-planing plus there are drop-offs at the edge of the roads down there). It is advisable to do a dry run during daylight hours to find the route when signs can be seen as one doesn't want to make the wrong turn into some farmer's field where they can be stuck in the mud or sand, possibly miles from any human habitation.

The way Arena Dust tours work is that you drive to the Dorenkamps and park your vehicle safely on their property. Visitors are driven to the lek site so they don't have to worry about getting to the correct location or getting stuck. After the viewing the courtship dances of the Lesser Prairie-Chickens is over, visitors will be able to see other local birds on the way back and Fred will tell visitors about the area and it's history. Fred has a wealth of experience and is very knowledgeable about the land and it's history.

The Dorenkamps charged $50/person last year and I suspect the fee this year will be not too different. The third option for viewing Lesser Prairie-Chickens is to join one of the professional tour groups that have trips to view all Colorado grouse. They charged between $2,100 to $2,500 per person for these 9-10 day statewide tours or $1,500 for a 7 day specialized tour last year.

If you attend the Snow Goose Festival you can meet the Dorenkamps as they will have a table at that event.
SeEtta