AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — A Texas Judge from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas Midland/Odessa Division has ruled this week that the Lesser Prairie Chicken is to lose its endangered species designation.
Previously reported on MyHighPlains.com, the lesser prairie chicken’s range covers a portion of the Permian Basin along the New Mexico-Texas state line and extends into parts of Colorado, Oklahoma, and Kansas. According to court documents, the most recent motion came roughly a week before the summary judgment deadline.
Court documents state that on May 7, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service moved for vacatur and remand of the rule listing the Lesser Prairie Chicken as endangered and threatened and argued there was a serious, foundational defect in the final rule.
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The court denied Energy and Wildlife Action Coalition, the Industry plaintiffs, and the LPC Conservation’s efforts to keep the animal under the listing and granted Fish and Wildlife’s motion to vacate and remand the final rule…