SCOTT CITY, Kan. — Kansas is relying on its conservation effort to protect the lesser prairie chicken as an ecotourism attraction that is attracting birdwatchers from across the world. Western Kansas is one of the last remaining places with a sustainable native population of lesser prairie chickens, said Michael Pearce, the department’s outdoor content manager. It has brought visitors to western Kansas’ small communities during the birds’ mating season in the spring, when tourism typically declines. “Twenty-seven of the 30 tours stayed in either Scott City or stayed in Oakley,” Millensifer said. And obviously, they bought candy, gum, cigarettes, beer, ice, etc.”Pearce said he hopes that landowners will see the economic value of preserving lesser prairie chickens.

Source: National Post May 19, 2019 17:48 UTC