Deputy Secretary Lynn Scarlett and TPWD Executive Director Robert Cook sign Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances for Lesser Prairie Chicken in Texas.

On November 2, 2006, a Candidate Conservation Agreement (CCAA) between the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanchus pallidicinctus; LPC) was signed at the TPWD Commission meeting in Austin, Texas.  The signing of the CCAA is the culmination of two years of work between TPWD and the Service to develop a proactive mechanism to improve habitat conditions for the LPC while protecting the private property rights of landowners who provide habitat for the species.  The CCAA is expected to improve participation by private landowners in LPC conservation initiatives by removing the perceived disincentive of having a candidate species present on their properties, and will provide TPWD and the Service with a better assessment of LPC habitat conditions and population levels.  The ultimate goal of the CCAA is to improve habitat conditions for the LPC on private lands to the point that listing of the species under the Endangered Species Act becomes unnecessary.  The CCAA was signed by Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett, Regional Director Dr. Benjamin N. Tuggle, and TPWD Executive Director Robert L. Cook.