By Gerry Augustin, Outdoor writer

The inaugural Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival will be in Woodward April 17-22, giving Oklahomans a chance to see and hear a symbol of the American prairie as it sings, dances and puts on a mating ritual.

The lesser prairie chicken is a bird once so abundant old timers claimed they used to see them blacken the skies in western Oklahoma. Since the 1800s, however, the bird’s numbers and home range significantly have declined, due mostly to human influences like conversion of native range land to crop land, overgrazing by livestock and extensive use of herbicides.

Oklahoma Audubon Council, along with Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension and Oklahoma Agritourism Program, have formed a partnership, working to showcase the lesser prairie chicken and its importance to Oklahoma.

Many activities are planned for the festival, including viewing the bird’s booming grounds, an owl prowl, geocaching and stargazing. Multiple tours will be available to view prairie dog towns and the Shattuck Windmill Museum as well as tours dedicated to birding at Black Mesa State Park and prairie bugs and plants.

Workshops will be conducted on topics such as the ecology of the lesser prairie chicken, nature sketching, prairie spiders, bugs and venomous insects and prairie plants. Multiple guest speakers will give presentations.

For information or to download a registration form, go to okaudubon.org.

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is working with private landowners to conserve lesser prairie chickens on their property through its Landowner Incentive Program. For information, log on to wildlifedepartment.com.

Outdoor trivia

My last trivia questions were geared toward the bird hunter. How well did you do? The maximum effective range of a shotgun with an improved cylinder is 35 yards. The ruffed grouse develops horny growths of pectin on its feet in fall and winter.

Try these questions for next time: What bait is used by fisherman but cannot be fully digested by fish? In terms of rifling twist, does a heavier or lighter bullet require a faster twist to maintain accuracy?

Cold doesn’t stop anglers

Even though it was just 13 degrees at the boat ramp, 22 anglers from the Enid Bass Club launched their boats in the chilly waters of Sooner Lake March 1.

Even at this temperature the fish were biting. In all, club members brought 93.7 pounds of bass to the scales.

Brian Fuksa weighed in 18.25 pounds to claim first place. Chris Johnson was second with 10.41 pounds, followed by Ken Nealis with 9.5 pounds. Brent Hibbets was fourth with 8.68 pounds. Gary Combrink was fifth with 7.93 pounds.

Fuksa caught the big bass with a catch of 5.77 pounds. Johnson was second with a catch of 4.75 pounds.

To learn more about the Enid Bass Club and to view upcoming events and tournament results, go to www.enidbassclub.com.

Outdoor calendar

Today

• Rabbit season closes.

March 27

• Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) employment exam at Rose State College, Midwest City.

April 1

• ODWC Commission meeting.

•Applications open for Oklahoma Controlled Hunts through May 15.