5% of the profits support Endangered & Threatened Species.
Endangered Bird
©Juliet Whitsett |Social: @juliet_whitsett_art
Purchase prints: HERE
"In the early 1900's an estimated 1 million Attwater's prairie-chickens were spread across the landscape of coastal Louisiana and Texas. As of 2023, there was an estimated 182 individuals left in two locations in the wild (Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge and private lands in Goliad Texas in partnership with The Nature Conservancy). Habitat lost and fragmentation are the leading factors behind the steep decline in population. Where once 6 million acres of coastal prairie could be found in the bird’s range, less than 1% remains today.
There is hope! In 1992, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service teamed up with Fossil Rim Wildlife Center to establish a captive breeding program to ensure genetic diversity and help re-establish and support wild populations. Today, there are now four facilities that participate in this partnership: Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, Houston Zoo, Caldwell Zoo, and the Sutton Avian Research Center."
Information generously provided by:
Brooke Burrows, Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge
COLOR PALETTE SAMPLED FROM IMAGES OF THE ATTWATER'S PRAIRIE CHICKEN:
Coming Soon
IMAGE:
Image source : https://www.fws.gov/story/2021-04/remarkable-return
RANGE:
Historically, Attwater’s prairie-chickens were once found on 6 million acres of prairie along the Gulf Coast from Corpus Christi, Texas, north to the Bayou Teche area in Louisiana, and inland some 75 miles. Due to the loss of habitat from agriculture, urbanization and fire suppression, less than one percent of their habitat remains.
Today, only two populations of the Attwater’s prairie-chicken exist: one at Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge and the other on private property in Goliad County.
BIODIVERSITY OF TEXAS SERIES:
With roughly ~150 threatened and ~75 endangered species in Texas alone, artist Juliet Whitsett has been learning about and sharing the importance of biodiversity. Through the process of developing species-derived color palettes sampled from crowd-sourced images, Whitsett creates original artworks that draw inspiration from these distinctive palettes, as well as the lives and forms of the rarest and most at-risk. Collaborating closely with scientists and leading experts, she continually seeks to deepen her understanding of these species, contributing to both environmental education and conservation.
SOURCES:
Communication with Brooke Burrows, Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge
Check out iNaturalist : https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/238946-Tympanuchus-cupido-attwateri
https://www.fws.gov/story/2021-04/remarkable-return
https://www.fws.gov/species/attwaters-greater-prairie-chicken-tympanuchus-cupido-attwateri