A federal judge has agreed to let the Trump administration remove federal protections for the lesser prairie chicken, an imperiled grouse long caught in a tug of war between industry and conservationists.
In May, federal officials had filed a court briefing asking for this outcome, arguing that the science behind a Biden-era decision to place the prairie chicken on the endangered species list was deeply flawed.
The judge, David Counts of the Western District of Texas, who was nominated by President Trump in 2017, wrote on Tuesday that the recent “concession” by the Fish and Wildlife Service “points to serious error at the very foundation” of its earlier decision.
Conservationists expressed bitter disappointment. “The court here simply took the Trump administration at its word and does not appear to have grappled with the science, conservation status or history of this listing at all,” said Jason Rylander, legal director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute. He said the Biden administration’s decision had been “carefully considered” and the new ruling “had everything to do with kowtowing to the oil and gas industry.”
The bird’s habitat, which sprawls across the southern Great Plains, has been a source of conflict with cattle ranches and oil and gas drilling operations.
The leading global scientific authority on the status of species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, classifies the lesser prairie chicken as “vulnerable” and “in decline.” The population has decreased in number from perhaps millions to about 30,000 today.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The prairie chickens, known for their elaborate courtship dance, were first protected under the Endangered Species Act in 2014, but that listing was challenged and later thrown out in court. In 2022, the birds came under protection again, this time in a decision that divided the species into two distinct populations. The southern one, for birds in eastern New Mexico and Southwest Texas, was listed as endangered. The northern one, for birds in central and western Kansas, central Oklahoma and the northeast panhandle of Texas, was classified as threatened, a less-imperiled status.
The petroleum and ranching industries sued, along with the states of Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma.
The decision to divide the population in two, federal officials now say, was so fundamentally flawed that it invalidates the entire listing decision.
Industry plaintiffs applauded the ruling.
“This is an important victory for both sound science and for those that live, work, create jobs, and raise their family in the heart of the Permian Basin,” Ben Shepperd, president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, said in a statement. The group said that industry, agriculture, and state agencies 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.”
In its May filing, federal officials said they expected to re-evaluate the bird’s status by November 2026. Conservation advocates cast doubt on that timeline and said they were exploring legal options.
Catrin Einhorn covers biodiversity, climate and the environment for The Times.
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