March 14, 2003

The End of the Earth, the Beginning of Paradise
Notes from Canadian, Texas

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Jim Bill Anderson, Hemphill County rancher, prairie devotee, Canadian (Texas) booster, and nature tourism practitioner, had promised prairie-chickens. Remelle Farrar, director of the Texas Prairie Rivers initiative, unflappable Canadian marketer, and campaigner for rural tourism development throughout the Great Plains, had followed suit. I had guaranteed Victor Emanuel (of Victor Emanuel Nature Tours) the same. Victor had extended this assurance to Barry Lyon, one of his company’s tour leaders. All of us converged last weekend in Canadian to fulfill our mutual guarantees, assurances, and obligations. We came to see chickens.

For those who are not familiar with the Texas landscape, the northernmost tip of the state is known as the Panhandle. Yes, other states (Florida and Oklahoma come to mind) have used this antiquated term to describe disconnected or peripheral lands. But the shear expanse of Texas sets off this Panhandle from the rest. Canadian, for example, is closer to several other state capitals than to Austin. Locals say that the Texas Panhandle may not be the end of the earth, but "you can certainly see it from here." Wrong. This is the end of the earth, and the beginning of paradise.

The region we visited (the Texas Prairie Rivers) spans the eastern half of the Panhandle, with Canadian and Hemphill County (our destinations) abutting the Oklahoma border. Unlike the featureless farm lands to the west, the Texas Prairie Rivers region rolls, folds, breaks, and falls. The Canadian River sweeps across the region from the west (originating in Colorado), and the "breaks" associated with the river express themselves in undulating sand hills, sweeping canyons, and blue mesas.

Ranchers such as Jim Bill, landowners who are fundamentally committed to land stewardship and conservation, have preserved this last stronghold of Lesser Prairie-Chicken. Although these birds do spread into nearby states (Colorado, New Mexico, and Oklahoma), the Texas Panhandle in general and Hemphill County in particular are where these prairie grouse still thrive. Canadian is the epicenter of the remaining Lesser Prairie-Chicken world, and we were visiting to get a glimpse of a time past.

On Saturday Jim Bill and his wife, Debbie, ferried me out to a prairie-chicken lek (where the males chickens display) that had been previously visited only a few times. Bouncing across infinite acres of little bluestem before sunrise, Jim Bill kept assuring me that this lek contained the "mother load." With my mouth loaded with donuts and black coffee, I was certainly in no position to question his appraisal.

Arriving at the lek before first light, we parked below the rise at some distance to keep from disturbing the birds. Within minutes of our arrival I began to hear the insistent cackles and hoots of the males as they started to arrange themselves in the opening. As the sun rose we were gifted with the singular view of over forty Lesser Prairie-Chicken males (forty-three to be exact) booming, strutting, and cavorting around the truck.

On Sunday we repeated the prairie-chicken experience at another lek on Jim Bill’s property. Victor and Barry joined us, and we positioned ourselves in a new blind installed on the property by Texas Prairie Rivers. A cold front had blown through the previous night, and the temperature dipped to around 20 degrees F. as we entered the blind.

Our frosted spirits (although not our fingers and toes) soon thawed as we heard the males approach. For the next two hours we were mesmerized by the incredible gyrations and contortions of the displaying males. Although both Victor and Barry had previously seen this species elsewhere, both agreed that nothing approached the intimacy or intensity offered by the Canadian viewing experience.

I (along with my Fermata staff) have been blessed to have worked with Canadian and the Texas Prairie Rivers initiative over the past few years. We were intimately involved in the creation of Texas Prairie Rivers, as well as in the development of the Great Texas Wildlife Trails (including the High Plains). However, we have learned as much from our friends there (people such as Jim Bill and Debbie Anderson, and Remelle and Terry Farrar) as they have gleaned from us. Canadian and the Texas Prairie Rivers region are being transformed through their efforts, offering one of the best examples of the power of nature tourism as a means to an end (rather than a simple end itself).

In future months Fermata will be working with Remelle and the Texas Prairie Rivers initiative on a new phase in this project. Combined with Fermata projects in states such as Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, and North Dakota (not to mention Coahuila, Mexico or Manitoba, Canada) the beginnings of our Great Plains Nature Trail are quickly taking shape. But, to be perfectly honest, I gain even more satisfaction from knowing that the Lesser Prairie-Chicken, in the capable hands of ranchers such as the Andersons, will still dance and twirl for future generations of chickens and chicken-watchers alike.

For more information, read the most recent Fermata article on Canadian:

http://www.fermatainc.com/high_plains/

Additional links we recommend are:

Canadian, Texas

Texas Prairie Rivers

Texas Parks and Wildlife High Plains Wildlife Trail, Canadian Loop

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours

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