The lesser prairie-chicken was struck from the U.S. Endangered Species list in March. But, a decades-long legal battle is still in play that involves the bird, represented by conservation groups, and a dogpile of three states, counties in New Mexico and Kansas and eight interest groups representing the energy, agricultural and livestock industries.
“This back and forth of federal protection for a clearly imperiled species whose conservation status is very much in doubt is shameful, and it is not how the Endangered Species Act is supposed to work,” said Jason Rylander, senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity in Washington DC. The vulnerable bird’s historic habitat in Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma has shrunk by 92%. Two small but distinct populations of the bird live in tiny portions of New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Texas.
“The lesser prairie-chicken occupies an area in west Texas and eastern New Mexico that is a prime area for oil and gas development,” he added. “And similarly, the areas in the midwestern states are those where there is also energy development and also a good bit of agricultural development.”
Rylander told KDNK that the legal battle to keep the birds from going extinct has lasted decades. “We have been petitioning for nearly 30 years to convince the Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to list the lesser prairie-chicken under the Endangered Species Act,” he explained. “In 2014, after a series of lawsuits, the bird was listed but the following year, the oil and gas industry successfully challenged that listing in federal court.”
In 2016, the Center for Biological Diversity and other groups petitioned for emergency protection and brought more lawsuits. In 2022, lesser prairie-chickens in New Mexico and Texas were listed as endangered. The northern population segment in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas was listed as threatened.
Then, out came the big legal guns. On March 21, 2023, the states of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas filed lawsuits, challenging the final [USFWS] listing rule. Another lawsuit was filed the same day by the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, special agricultural and oil and gas interest groups in four states and three county governments in New Mexico - all because of one little bird.
Four months later, three agricultural special interest groups challenged the listing for the northern lesser prairie-chicken population, which resulted in the de-listing of both populations by August, 2025.
“So here we are again with another set of lawsuits from the oil and gas industry, the state of Texas and the ranching industry that have, at least for the time being, removed the species protections,” Rylander said.
He adds that there is so much development in these areas that the impact of the listings on industry would be minimal. “But we are dealing with corporations that are primarily concerned with profit and are unwilling to accept even the possibility that their activities may be restricted in some way,” he said. The lesser prairie chicken might not be charismatic megafauna like bison, deer or elk but Rylanders says that doesn’t matter. “Prairie chickens have inherent value simply as part of the rich fabric of animal life. The bird's unique dance and colorful feathers are all part of iconic American landscapes,” he told KDNK. “We've been fighting for decades to protect these birds because they're special and they have a right to exist.”
The Center for Biological Diversity and other groups are appealing both the Texas court’s denial of the conservation groups’ right to intervene in the case and the final order that cancelled the listing rule.
