‘Chick’ lit for everyone: Sustainability Opportunities
2017-04-10
Millions of Attwater’s prairie chickens once roamed the prairie along the Texas and Louisiana coast, including the prairies around Johnson Space Center. Often noted for their unique springtime breeding display, these grouse played an iconic role in the coastal prairie ecosystem. Hunting pressure in the early 20th century and subsequent habitat loss to agriculture and urban development drove this species population to record low numbers. Non-native fire ants continue to hamper the recovery of the bird as development and invasive plant species degrade its remaining habitat.
The Attwater’s prairie chicken is one of the nation’s most endangered bird species, but much is being done to aid its recovery. The Houston Zoo and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lead a captive breeding and release program to help boost numbers of these birds in the wild. In fact, the Houston Zoo houses many of the captive Attwater’s prairie chickens in specially designed pens here at Johnson. There, zoo personnel collect and care for eggs that can be hatched to supplement wild populations and keep this Texas species alive.
You can learn more about Attwater’s prairie chickens and their coastal prairie habitat at the Houston Zoo website and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Attwater’s Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge website.
To learn more about sustainability issues and events surrounding Johnson, including the kickoff of “42! Minutes,” an interactive speaker series, read this month’s Sustainability Opportunities.
A male Attwater’s prairie chicken prepares to begin its breeding “booming” display in a Houston Zoo breeding facility at Johnson Space Center. Image Credit: NASA/Lauren Harnett
The Attwater’s prairie chicken is one of the nation’s most endangered bird species, but much is being done to aid its recovery. The Houston Zoo and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lead a captive breeding and release program to help boost numbers of these birds in the wild. In fact, the Houston Zoo houses many of the captive Attwater’s prairie chickens in specially designed pens here at Johnson. There, zoo personnel collect and care for eggs that can be hatched to supplement wild populations and keep this Texas species alive.
You can learn more about Attwater’s prairie chickens and their coastal prairie habitat at the Houston Zoo website and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Attwater’s Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge website.
To learn more about sustainability issues and events surrounding Johnson, including the kickoff of “42! Minutes,” an interactive speaker series, read this month’s Sustainability Opportunities.
A male Attwater’s prairie chicken prepares to begin its breeding “booming” display in a Houston Zoo breeding facility at Johnson Space Center. Image Credit: NASA/Lauren Harnett