The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday ended federal Endangered Species Act protections for the lesser prairie chicken, a ground-dwelling bird native to the southern Great Plains known for elaborate mating dances. The agency’s delisting, reported by the Associated Press, followed a court ruling that said the federal government had listed the bird improperly and that the agency sided with opponents of federal protections after the Trump administration took office. The step formalized an earlier decision by a federal judge in Midland, Texas, that in effect reversed the bird’s protections last year.
The protections that ended on Thursday had required energy developers and ranchers to take steps to avoid disrupting the bird’s habitat—particularly areas used for mating, known as leks. The Endangered Species Act protections were put in place after the bird’s federal status was updated in recent years, as litigation moved through federal court over whether the listing was justified.
The Associated Press said the judge’s earlier ruling came after a lawsuit filed by Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas and joined by groups including the Permian Basin Petroleum Association and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. In the months that followed President Joe Biden’s administration listing the lesser prairie chicken as threatened in the northern part of its range and endangered in a distinct population segment to the south, the challengers argued the federal agency’s approach to the bird’s distinct populations lacked justification.
After President Donald Trump took office, the Fish and Wildlife Service reevaluated the lesser prairie chicken and agreed with the states and industry groups, according to the AP report. The delisting on Thursday thus reflected that reevaluation and the court’s conclusion that the federal classification underpinning the protections was in error.
The Associated Press described the species as having once numbered in the millions, with habitat loss from energy and agriculture development shrinking the population to about 30,000 birds across parts of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Wildlife watchers and bird enthusiasts have long been drawn to the males’ spring dances and the sounds they make while attracting mates, including warbling, clucking and stomping ruckus, the AP reported. It also said some Native American tribes mimic the flamboyant displays in dances.
Texas officials welcomed the change. Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said the delisting “will ensure American oil and gas production in the Permian Basin remains robust and our economy steadfast,” in an emailed statement cited by the AP report. Texas Railroad Commission spokesperson Bryce Dubee also welcomed the delisting, the report said, framing the reversal of protections as beneficial to the state’s energy sector.
The Associated Press said environmentalists vowed to keep fighting the decision in court. Jason Rylander, legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute, said the move was “shameful” and that “Lesser prairie chickens may be lost forever without Endangered Species Act protections,” according to the statement included in the AP report.
While the delisting ends federal protections now, the lesser prairie chicken’s protection history has already included reversals and reclassifications in recent years. The AP reported that a federal judge in Midland in 2015 reversed a prior listing as threatened, and that in 2022 the Biden administration listed the bird again in the manner later challenged in court.