lesser prairie chicken

The bird dwells west of Lubbock, and in the tip of the Panhandle, north of Amarillo.

The decision by a Texas federal court removed the lesser prairie chicken of any endangered or threatened species protections, which were established through a Biden-era ruling. The Trump administration had tried to reverse the designation, on behalf of livestock and oil producers.

The lesser prairie chicken is threatened in its northern range, which includes Kansas and Oklahoma, and endangered in its southern range. Kansas Republicans have introduced legislation over the years that would reverse protections for the species.

Conservationists and cattle ranchers are working together to restore grassland for the lesser prairie chicken. The bird used to roam Kansas, but has lost most of its habitat to crop production.

The Biden Administration's Endangered Species Act listing of some animals native to Oklahoma is being challenged by Congress. But there are landowners taking it upon themselves to volunteer their fields for prairie restoration.

The U.S. House of Representatives last week voted on a bill that could overturn the Endangered Species Act listing of the lesser prairie chicken following the Senate’s decision in May.

The Republican congressman who represents south-central Kansas called the proposed federal protections for the native prairie bird "nonfactual."

Only about 30,000 of the birds are left, down from millions. And they've been at the heart of political and conservation debates for years.

Over the decades, the Lesser Prairie Chicken has become a purity test for Kansas politicians and a proxy in the battle between industry and private landowners versus environmentalists.

As more of the lesser prairie chicken's habitat is taken over by agriculture, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is promoting more voluntary conservation initiatives for the bird and the health of the Great Plains.