Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Today the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed adding the lesser prairie-chicken to the Endangered Species Act, with the Southern Distinct Population Segment (DPS) as endangered and the Northern DPS as threatened.

"Kansas farmers and ranchers have been excellent stewards of land and resources for years without heavy-handed government intervention, and they have also taken extraordinary measures to protect the habitat of the lesser prairie-chicken," said Rep. Estes. "The federal government has spent millions of dollars to conclude that the lesser prairie-chicken population is stable. Today's announcement sets the stage to unnecessarily list the species as endangered in the future – a decision that harms Kansas ag and energy producers and diminishes our successful, voluntary public-private conservation practices."

The lesser prairie-chicken population has increased by more than 50% since Fish and Wildlife Service started this process, yet the Washington-based agency still seems determined to list the local species as endangered. Read more about the Fish and Wildlife Service's announcement on their website here.