Texas Ranch Family Saves Nearly Extinct Prairie Chicken

The O'Connor family has been ranching in Texas since 1836, but their newest achievement might be their most important: helping save a bird that nearly disappeared forever.

Wexford Ranches in South and West Texas just received the Leopold Conservation Award for their work protecting the critically endangered Attwater's prairie chicken. These football-sized birds with striking brown and white feathers once numbered around one million across the Gulf Coast. Today, only two wild populations remain, and one lives on the O'Connor family's land.

The decline was devastating. By 1900, coastal prairies were being converted to cropland and cities. Nearly 99 percent of the birds' natural habitat vanished. Excessive hunting in the early 1900s made things worse, with hunters competing to kill the most birds and leaving piles of carcasses to rot. Texas finally banned hunting them in 1937.

Then came an unexpected threat in the 1950s. Invasive fire ants from South America wiped out local insects that prairie chicken chicks depend on for food. The combination of lost habitat, hunting, and food scarcity pushed these birds to the edge of extinction.

The O'Connor family saw an opportunity to help. Their property called Duke Prairie stretches across 14 linear miles with lakes and waterways. They spent decades restoring native grasses that provide hiding spots and nesting structures. They carefully managed grazing to reduce stress on the land. The native plants came back, stabilizing topsoil and increasing water flow into natural streams.

Ranch foreman Kai Buckert introduced new technologies and innovative conservation practices that made the difference. Over the past five years, more than 50 Attwater's prairie chickens have been spotted on the ranch. Other species like quail have also bounced back.

The Ripple Effect

The success at Wexford Ranches proves that working cattle ranches and wildlife conservation can thrive together. Tim Siegmund from Texas Parks and Wildlife said the ranch management "allows a glimpse into what portions of our state looked like prior to settlement and allowed the species dependent on these systems to thrive."

Other ranchers across Texas are now looking to Wexford as a model for their own land. The techniques used here, from controlled grazing to native plant restoration, can work anywhere landowners want to make space for nature alongside their businesses.

The Attwater's prairie chicken still has a long road ahead, but thanks to families like the O'Connors, extinction is no longer inevitable.