chicken in Kansas, are designated as the Eastern Area and the West- 

 em Area respectively. See figure 3 on page 13. 



The Eastern Area (Plate 1, Figure a). — This type includes parts 

 of Fly's (op. cit.) East Central Prairies, the eastern part of his 

 Bluestem Hills and the eastern part of his Cross Timbers and 

 Interspersed Prairies. The Eastern Area is typified by a mixture 

 of croplands and native grasslands; the grasslands are in excess 

 of fifty per cent of the farmland. Croplands are rarely more than 

 one mile from any part of the grasslands; consequently there is 

 a favorable interspersion of winter food and cover. The burning 

 of pastures is practiced but, because roads and croplands act as 

 barriers, fire usually is limited to small areas. This type of range 

 includes the best range for the greater prairie chicken in Kansas. 



Blackjack Prairie (Plate 1, Figure h). — This is the central part 

 of the area designated by Fly (op. cit.) as "Cross Timbers and 

 Interspersed Prairies." The soils are sandy, and there are woods on 

 many hilltops. Areas of prairie are extensive and in some places are 

 farther removed from feed crops than in the Eastern Area. 



Bluestem Hills (Plate 1, Figure c). — This type includes only 

 the central part of Fly's (op. cit.) area of the same name. Soils 

 are flinty or cherty, cultivation is limited to the creek valleys, and 

 areas of grassland may be several miles across, resulting, in many 

 places, in poor interspersion of food and cover. Burning of pastures 

 in the spring is common, especially on leased land, and large con- 

 tinuous areas are burned. In the spring of 1950 I drove from Casso- 

 day to Cottonwood Falls, a distance of 24 miles, in this range type 

 without seeing any unbumed grassland. The greater prairie chicken 

 was seen twice on this same trip. Spring burning and poor inter- 

 spersion of winter food and cover are primary limiting factors for 

 the greater prairie chicken in this large area. The Bluestem Hills 

 differ from the Blackjack Prairie in having more extensive grass- 

 lands, no woody vegetation on the upland, and in having a cal- 

 careous parent material for the soil. Unless further investigation 

 reveals that these two areas differ markedly in the abundance of the 

 greater prairie chicken, they might be considered as a unit when a 

 management plan is put into effect. 



Western Area (Plate 4, Figure a). — This type is the transition 

 between the Bluestem Hills and the intensively cultivated land 

 to the west. The agricultural characteristics resemble those of the 

 Eastern Area, except that the grass-flora of the uplands, when 

 grazed, tends strongly toward the short- and the mid-grasses. 



Marginal Townships. — Six townships, where the greater prairie 



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