Wisconsin's greater prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) began its return from near extinction in this state when, in 1954, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) entered into a partnership with Wisconsin conservation groups to establish a prairie chicken management program on the Buena Vista Grasslands in southwestern Portage County. Successful growth and continuation of this project has saved a species.

Today, the population of greater prairie chickens changes yearly, but a few thousand chickens can be found in the central part of the state each fall. These birds breed, nest, raise their young, and weather the seasons in a landscape still capable of supporting this native grouse species.

Learn about the "comeback story" of a bird with a past and, thanks to the continuing efforts of many people, a bird with a future. Their original prairie habitat may be gone, but these remarkable birds now thrive in the "surrogate" grasslands of central Wisconsin where the age-old sounds of territorial aggression, conflict, and competition are heard each spring.