The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) last week delisted the lesser prairie chicken as a threatened and endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). NCBA, along with KLA and other state affiliates in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, filed litigation to remove the bird when it first was listed in 2022 because the protection was both legally and scientifically flawed.
“Established science has repeatedly proven that healthy rangelands maintained by cattle grazing are exactly where the lesser prairie chicken thrives,” said NCBA President and Virginia cattle producer Gene Copenhaver.
The listing took effect March 27, 2023, impacting all states in the species’ range, including Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. In 2025, the U.S. Federal District Court of Western Texas vacated the 4(d) rule, holding that the lesser prairie chicken no longer should be protected as “threatened” under ESA because FWS failed to consider the economic implications of issuing the listing. According to NCBA, last week’s action now aligns FWS with the existing federal court mandate and is long overdue.
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