TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials said relisting the lesser prairie chicken as threatened or endangered would negatively affect the state's economy and agricultural industry.
Gov. Sam Brownback, state Attorney General Derek Schmidt and state Department of Agriculture Secretary Jackie McClaskey are asking government officials to consider having Kansas landowners implement efforts to protect the lesser prairie chicken, the Hutchinson News (http://bit.ly/2l17lhP ) reported.
In a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service the officials noted that categorizing the chicken as threatened or endangered would unduly affect the state's primary interest in controlling how the land within its borders is used.
"The previous listing of the lesser prairie chicken did nothing to enhance the species or its habitat, but it threatened the energy and agriculture economies of western Kansas. I urge the federal government not to reinstate this unnecessary and harmful listing," Brownback said.
The lesser prairie chicken was removed from the Endangered Species Act List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife after a September 2015 order from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, which abandoned the fish and wildlife service's 2014 listing rule.
The service began reassessing the biological status of the species after it received a new listing petition from three environmental groups last year. The assessment is scheduled to be completed this summer.
"This recent action by USFWS does not recognize the significant and successful stewardship of our agricultural community," McClaskey said.
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Information from: The Hutchinson (Kan.) News, http://www.hutchnews.com
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