Environmental groups continued pressure on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the Lesser Prairie Chicken as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act is one issue that just won’t seem to expire.
The most recent salvo in this game of chicken came on Nov. 25, when USFWS published its final rule to list the Lesser Prairie Chicken as “threatened” in Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and parts of Texas; and as “endangered” in New Mexico and other parts of Texas. The one concession to the agricultural industry in this listing was the 4(d) rule, which grants protection to…