No. All property acquisition by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) would be on a voluntary basis (willing buyer/willing seller only) and only lands in which the Service acquires a fee/title realty interest would become part of a refuge. Lands identified in the expansion boundary and priority area are in private and public ownership. It is not the intent of the Service to acquire lands already in public ownership. Only in the presence of willing sellers and only after detailed planning could lands be acquired for the refuge.

The Service will not use eminent domain or condemnation to acquire lands. As the opportunity arises, the Service will acquire land from interested landowners within the planning areas who wish to sell or place easements on their land for the conservation of wildlife.

No. If lands are developed into a National Wildlife Refuge, the Service will have no more authority over private land within or adjacent to the boundaries of the refuge than any other landowner. Landowners retain all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of private land ownership.

No. This is not a recovery plan or strategy for the lesser prairie-chicken as recovery planning is its own process. Conservation of the lesser prairie-chicken, regardless of its listing status, is reliant upon efforts well beyond this Land Protection Plan. 

The lesser prairie-chicken was listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in November 2022. The Service has begun the recovery planning process. 

The recovery plan identifies recovery criteria for review of when a species may be ready for downlisting or delisting, and methods for monitoring recovery progress. 

Any resulting conservation benefits for the lesser prairie-chicken realized from this land expansion effort may contribute towards meeting any potential recovery goals established through a recovery planning process.

Conservation easements provide permanent protection to natural resources while retaining private landownership. The landowner retains ownership of the land but sells certain rights identified and agreed upon by both parties. The value a landowner may expect to receive for an easement is dependent on the number of rights the landowner chooses to sell. Because ownership of the land remains with the individual, the property remains on the state and local tax rolls. The Service pays fair market value for property and any rights purchased. 

Fee-Title Acquisition involves an interested landowner requesting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acquire most or all the rights to their property. There is a total transfer of property with the formal conveyance of a title to the federal government. In some instances, certain rights such as water rights, mineral rights or use reservations, such as grazing, can be negotiated at the time the property is transferred in ownership. The Service pays fair market value for property and any rights purchased.