Following an announcement from the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) that it would extend the effective date of the final rule to list the lesser prairie-chicken (LPC) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) until March 27, 2023, Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Roger Marshall, M.D., (R-KS), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), along with Representatives Frank Lucas (R-OK-03), Tom Cole (R-OK-04), Stephanie Bice (R-OK-05), Tracey Mann (R-KS-01), Jake LaTurner (R-KS-02), Ron Estes (KS-04), August Pfluger (R-TX-11), Dan Newhouse (R-WA-04), and Ronny Jackson (R-TX-13) issued the following joint statement:
“While a delay gives industry stakeholders valuable time to prepare for more bureaucratic red tape, our preference continues to be that this listing of the lesser prairie-chicken be dropped,” said the Members. ”Each party that is targeted by this listing must take advantage of this opportunity to continue to engage in their longstanding voluntary conservation efforts, a fact that went completely ignored by the federal government when it came to this decision. We commend Secretary Haaland for the additional time, but we will continue to do what we can at the federal level to stop the rule from going into effect.”
The extension announcement comes after Lankford, Marshall, and their colleagues requested an extension earlier this month.
