Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Breeding Range. (Fig 52). Populations and breeding range of the Greater Prairie Chicken have been greatly reduced in North Dakota. During recent years (1968-1972), it could be considered only as a rare and very local summer resident in the Agassiz Lake Plain Region and on the Southern Drift Plain. Formerly, particularly from about 1895 to 1930 (Johnson 1964), this species was represented by large populations and was widely distributed. During this period it was a common, locally abundant breeding species throughout the Agassiz Lake Plain and Prairie Pothole Regions and on the Coteau Slope; small local populations also occurred on the Missouri Slope and Little Missouri Slope.
Apparently, Greater Prairie Chickens did not occur in North Dakota prior to the late 1870's. The first record for the state was reported from Grand Forks in 1880 (Cooke 1888), and the first "booming" in spring was reported from the Bowesmont-Glasston area of Pembina County in 1882 (Williams 1926). By 1884, Prairie Chickens were considered to be as common as Sharp-tailed Grouse at Fargo and, at that time, had already worked their way about 60 miles west of the Red River along the Northern Pacific Railroad (Cooke 1885). Following these initial records, the species spread rapidly westward in large numbers and within 15 years was well established throughout the state, except for the badlands region in the southwest (Johnson 1964).
The high statewide populations remained fairly stable until the early 1930's when a definite reversal in the population trend occurred. This change progressed from the western part of the state toward the east and was characterized by a rapid decline in numbers and a gradual constriction of breeding range. By 1940, the principal remaining concentrations were found in parts of Benson, Eddy, Foster, Stutsman, Logan, and McIntosh Counties (Saugstad et al. 1940). By 1954, Miller (1955) found that the greater numbers were present in Eddy, Foster, and Benson Counties, and adjacent parts of Griggs, Nelson, Ramsey, Towner, Pierce, Wells, and Stutsman Counties. On the basis of roadside counts, a statewide population of 430,000 birds was estimated for 1940 (Saugstad et al. 1940), but by 1964 the estimated population had been reduced to 4,000 or 5,000 birds (Johnson 1964). These downward trends were continued and by 1972 the indications are that fewer than 400 birds were present; at this time the majority of this dwindling population occurred in very restricted areas within Grand Forks, Ransom, and Richland Counties (RES).
In 1942, Martin Myhre of the North Dakota State Game and Fish Department conducted an intensive study of Greater Prairie Chickens occurring on a 12-square-mile tract located east of New Rockford in Eddy County within Township T149N,R66W. This particular area was considered to be the best for Prairie Chickens in North Dakota at the time. A total of 15 booming grounds were located, and the average number of males per booming ground was 7.5.
Gerald D. Kobriger of the State Game and Fish Department summarized census data based on booming ground counts during the years 1949-1967. The mean number of males per booming ground during the period 1949-1964 ranged from a low of 4.9 in 1957 to a high of 7.5 in 1950 and averaged 6.2. During the period 1965-1967 the number of males per booming ground had been reduced to 4.1 in 1965, 3.1 in 1966, and 2.3 in 1967.
Breeding Habitat. Greater Prairie Chickens are characteristic inhabitants of tracts of tall-grass prairie that are relatively undisturbed insofar as excessive grazing pressure or other intensive land-use practices are concerned. In a few cropland areas, Prairie Chickens have used temporary Soil Bank and abandoned weedy fields that have been created under government crop retirement programs. Occasionally, breeding birds also inhabited alfalfa and sweetclover hay fields.
It may be speculated that the absence of Greater Prairie Chickens in North Dakota prior to the ingress of white settlers may have been due to deleterious effects on tall-grass prairie caused by heavy grazing pressure from the tremendous herds of Bison and other large herbivores that roamed the region. During the early days of settlement in the late 1800's and early 1900's following the disappearance of the Bison, fairly extensive tracts of nonuse or lightly grazed tall-grass prairie were present, thus creating environmental conditions that were attractive to Greater Prairie Chickens. Later, most of these tracts were either plowed under or overgrazed by domestic livestock, resulting in the gradual disappearance of this species throughout the state.
Nesting. Breeding season: Mid-April to late July; peak, late April to early July. "Booming" was recorded as early as March 27 [1885] at Argusville in Cass County (Cooke 1888), and as late as June 24 [1924] near Spiritwood Lake in Stutsman County (Bennett 1926). Extreme egg dates (20 nests): April 28 [1895] in Towner County (Bishop egg collection catalog, Peabody Museum) to July 1 [1941] in Nelson County (A. Erickson). Extreme dates of dependent young (33 broods): May 31 [1973] in Richland County (H. W. Miller) to July 27 [1909] in McIntosh County (V. Bailey).
Following the destruction of vegetative cover by fire near Valley City in 1903, numerous nests of this species were rendered unusually conspicuous and were found to be concentrated along the margins of sloughs; some of these nests were only 15 or 20 feet apart (Johnson 1964). In late May 1973, a nest and a brood in Richland County were situated in a wet meadow that was composed of a mixture of prairie cordgrass, sedge, and Baltic rush (H. W. Miller).
Indicated clutch size (7 nests): 9 to 14 eggs; mean, 11.4 eggs.
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U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
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