Gov. Sam Brownback recently announced that Kansas is joining a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the designation of the lesser prairie chicken as a threatened species according to a recent article in the Wichita Eagle.
“The federal government made this decision despite concerns raised by the states directly affected by this decision,” Brownback said.
“This is an overreach by the federal government and is another example of the Obama administration aggressively and unnecessarily intruding into our daily lives.”
The lesser prairie chicken calls Kansas and four other states home. The Fish and Wildlife Service will grant these states special exemptions to proceed with an already-planned five-state conservation plan.
Kansas is suing despite the given exemption.
Attorney General Derek Schmidt will add Kansas to the lawsuit filed by Oklahoma, before state officials review the federal rules.