Three meetings will be held next week in western Kansas to hear comments about the lesser prairie chicken conservation plan.

The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks  is participating in a five-state effort to develop a range-wide conservation plan to address the decline of the lesser prairie chicken in Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas and Colorado.

The conservation plan is intended to benefit the wildlife resources, people, and economies of these states by providing a framework for effective lesser prairie chicken management and habitat improvement that will increase the range-wide population of lesser prairie chickens.

More information about the planning process can be found at the project website: http://www.ksre.k-state.edu/p.aspx?tabid=275.

Public meetings will be held in the southwest Kansas communities listed below on Nov. 13-15, 2012.

The public meeting schedule is:

November 13: Ness City, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., Ness County Historical Bank Building, 106 W Main (corner Pennsylvania and Main).

November 14: Ulysses, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., 4-H Building at Civic Center Complex, 1000 W Patterson.

November 15: Greensburg, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., Community Center (by fairgrounds), 720 N Bay.