A federal court judge in Texas issued a ruling this week to end Endangered Species Act protections for the lesser prairie chicken and overturn a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule to safeguard the bird. It resides in the major oil- and gas-producing states of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado and Kansas. Judge David Counts of the U.S. District Court for the western district of Texas noted “serious, foundational defects” in the rule. In his 18-page decision released Tuesday, the Trump-appointed judge said, “Mere remand (sending the rule back to FWS) could not cure this error.”
Fish and Wildlife Service reevaluated the rule in January after President Trump’s inauguration and found that the prior administration incorrectly applied the discrete population segment policy and failed to provide significant justification for the listing.
Ben Shepperd, president of Permian Basin Petroleum Association, told the New York Times, “This is an important victory for both sound science and for those that live, work, create jobs and raise their families in the heart of the Permian Basin.” PBPA said industry, agriculture and states have invested millions of dollars in “proactive, voluntary measures to conserve habitat and support lesser prairie chicken recovery without the heavy hand of unnecessary federal regulation.”
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