The Center for Biological Diversity and Texas Campaign for the Environment on Sept. 8 filed an appeal against a district court’s decision to remove federal protections from lesser prairie chickens.
In August, Judge David Counts of the U.S. District Court for the western district of Texas ruled the Fish and Wildlife Service erred when it listed the species as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 2022.
“The lesser prairie chicken listing was carefully considered and checked all the legal and scientific boxes,” said Jason Rylander, legal director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute. “This is a pure Trump power play to put oil and gas industry profits ahead of these birds’ survival.”
