OKLAHOMA CITY – Attorney General Gentner Drummond today is celebrating a significant win for Oklahoma’s agricultural and energy sectors, as a federal court has vacated the Biden-Harris administration’s rule that listed the lesser prairie chicken as an endangered species.
A U.S. District judge yesterday ruled in favor of Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas, finding that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service committed “foundational error” when it declared the bird endangered in 2022. The court’s order eliminates burdensome federal restrictions that threatened Oklahoma’s economy.
Lesser Prairie Chicken-male Lesser Prairie Chicken-female
“This is a tremendous victory for Oklahoma farmers, ranchers and energy producers,” Drummond said. “We told the Biden administration its rule was outrageous and illegal federal overreach. This court decision affirms we were right. Oklahoma’s cattle grazing, energy production and rural economy are no longer under siege by this unlawful regulation.”
The Fish and Wildlife Service admitted to the court that it failed to provide adequate justification for treating the lesser prairie chicken as comprising two distinct population segments that warrant endangered species protection.
The ruling immediately removes the rule’s federal restrictions on livestock grazing, energy pipeline development, oil drilling, wind farms and road construction across Western Oklahoma.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Texas by Drummond, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in March 2023.
