Monthly Program: Living Dinosaurs on the Prairie: The Evolutionary Story of Birds and the Fight to Save the Attwater Prairie Chicken with Jaide Cooper

Birds are more than distant relatives of dinosaurs - they are dinosaurs, the only surviving branch of the theropod lineage that once dominated Earth. This talk traces the extraordinary evolutionary journey from giant predatory dinosaurs to the diverse birds around us today, highlighting key innovations such as feathers, air-sac breathing systems, and the adaptations that made powered flight possible.

We then bring this deep history closer to home, focusing on the Texas coastal prairie and one of North America's most endangered birds, the Attwater's prairie-chicken. Each spring, this species performs courtship displays rooted in behaviors that stretch back tens of millions of years, making it a true "living dinosaur of the grasslands”.

By linking evolutionary science with modern conservation, the lecture explores why the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service established the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge, and how habitat restoration, research, and public support are helping prevent the disappearance of this remarkable species. Ultimately, the story of the Attwater's prairie-chicken shows how understanding its deep past can guide our efforts to protect its future.

About our Speaker:

Jaide Cooper is a Wildlife Refuge Specialist at the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge, where she supports a wide range of refuge operations. By day, she coordinates volunteers and educational programs that connect the public with prairie conservation; by night, she's often in the field radio-tagging prairie-chickens and helping monitor this critically endangered population.

A lifelong dinosaur enthusiast, Jaide's passion for paleontology led her to birds, birds led her to conservation, and conservation has taken her across dramatically different ecosystems. She earned her B.S. in Conservation Biology from Arizona State University, studied desert ecology in the Southwest, interned with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on the island of Kaua'i, and now works on the Texas coastal prairie helping "wrangle" the fragile Attwater's prairie-chicken population back from the brink of extinction.

Coastal Prairie Chapter programs are free and open to the public. This program will be held in-person at the Rosenberg Civic Center, 3825 TX-36, Rosenberg, TX 77471 Please plan to arrive at 6:00 pm for refreshments and social time. The program starts at 7pm.

Click Here for Zoom registration link

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