threatened and endangered species

The plains spotted skunk is becoming harder to find in the central U.S. states it calls home. As federal officials consider the skunk for federal protections, researchers and environmentalists are hoping to learn more about the long understudied species.

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.

The lesser prairie chicken was once a common sight in the southern Great Plains, but its numbers are dwindling. Even so, it lost federal protections earlier this year for a second time. Now states and landowners are overseeing conservation efforts

The ground-dwelling bird's preferred grassland habitat overlaps with agricultural and energy-rich regions, putting the species' future in the hands of private landowners. In the second installment of a two-part series, StateImpact's Chloe Bennett-Steele reports on continued conservation efforts for the species.

Missouri and Kansas are home to approximately 400 different bee species. Some residents are turning their yards and balconies into havens of native plants.

The bird dwells west of Lubbock, and in the tip of the Panhandle, north of Amarillo.

Peppered chubs are small, speckled fish that used to dart around in northern and central Oklahoma's rivers. Now they only live in a small section of the South Canadian River north of Amarillo, Texas, and have been on the endangered species list since 2022.

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.

Sand Creek Ranch was recently acquired by The Nature Conservancy to protect wildlife habitat.

The monarch butterfly population continues to shrink due to factors such as climate change. People working to help the species say proposed federal protections could boost existing efforts.