prairie

Numerous landowners testified against the proposed line, arguing it would destroy prairie grasslands and interfere with ranching, farming and oil and gas operations.

Ornate box turtles and their kin face steep challenges in today’s world, but people can help out by raising the deck height on their mowers, allowing turtles to cross the road and not taking them home as pets.

From a field on an Illinois university campus, to rare, untouched land in Texas, here are some efforts to replant once-abundant prairie in the Midwest and Great Plains.

The lesser prairie chicken, known for its flamboyant courtship dances and bulging neck pouches, has lost a majority of its population in the grasslands and brush of southwestern Kansas. But Republican lawmakers have long fought against its habitat protections.

At grassland sites worldwide, including the Midwest and Great Plains, scientists simulated extreme drought conditions. The study provides a far-reaching and systematic look at the effects of drought severity.

Sports betting became legal in Missouri this week. It marks the end of a years-long effort that came down to a statewide vote, and will likely transform the sports industry throughout the state. Plus: Lesser prairie chickens used to roam across Kansas and the Great Plains by the millions, but now there’s only a few thousand.

Nebraska ecologist Chris Helzer blends art and science to open people's eyes to an underappreciated ecosystem that is shrinking more and more every year.

The decision by a Texas federal court removed the lesser prairie chicken of any endangered or threatened species protections, which were established through a Biden-era ruling. The Trump administration had tried to reverse the designation, on behalf of livestock and oil producers.

The new book, "Sea of Grass," traces the history and future of the American prairie, laying out the stunning loss of grassland in North America and meeting the people fighting to bring it back.

The lesser prairie chicken is threatened in its northern range, which includes Kansas and Oklahoma, and endangered in its southern range. Kansas Republicans have introduced legislation over the years that would reverse protections for the species.

The annual “Great Backyard Bird Count” asks people to track the birds they see and hear over a few days. The information can help researchers better understand bird populations and whether species are declining.

A federal program kills hundreds of thousands of wild animals a year — like cowbirds in Missouri and prairie dogs in Kansas. Documents obtained by NPR show that many of those animals were killed in places where no damage to livestock was reported.