Lesser prairie chickens, like many ground-dwelling birds, have a short life expectancy with around 60% mortality.

After years of studies, the George Miksch Sutton Avian Research Center in Oklahoma reports that barbed-wire fences account for over 40% of the lesser prairie chicken mortality rate.

Several conservation groups and the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service have been working with landowners to remove unnecessary fences and to make fences more visible for low flying birds like lesser prairie chickens.

Simple things like putting a sign on the fence could make a huge difference in the lives of these birds.