Court Overturns Listing of Lesser Prairie Chicken

The listing of the lesser prairie chicken as a threatened species has been vacated by a federal court that ruled the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to give due consideration to conservation efforts when the service made the listing decision (Permian Basin Petroleum Ass’n v. Interior, W.D. Tex., 7:14-cv-00050, 9/1/15).

The bird, a kind of grouse, is found in five states and is common among the oil- and gas-producing regions of Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. It was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2014.

The listing was overturned Sept. 1 by the ...