Kansans Taking Multi-Pronged Approach To Halt Listing of the Lesser Prairie Chicken

(Washington, D.C., December 2, 2022) – Kansas U.S. Senators Roger Marshall, M.D. and Jerry Moran, as well as Kansas Congressman Tracey Mann today announced a multi-pronged approach to stop the Biden administration’s recent decision to list the lesser prairie-chicken under the Endangered Species Act (ESA):

1.      Senator Marshall and Congressman Mann have introduced legislation to give Congress the final say on whether to list an animal under the Endangered Species Act.

2.      Senators Marshall and Moran, as well as Congressman Mann, will introduce a Congressional Review Act(CRA) which would strike the listing. Per the Senate rules, this CRA must be voted on the Senate floor. U.S. Senators Jim Inhofe (OK), and James Lankford (OK) are co-sponsors.

3.      Senator Marshall will send a letter to the Department of Interior (DOI) requesting a delay on the final rule. Currently, landowners don’t have enough time to develop grazing plans on millions of acres before the DOI’s Jan. 24 deadline.

“The Biden Administration is putting interests of radical environmentalists over the livelihoods of hard working Kansans. This listing will devastate the Kansas economy, hinder oil and gas independence, increase utility costs, prevent development of renewable energy, and undermine private property rights,” said Senator Marshall. “We are working feverishly to get in motion our multi-pronged approach to stop this Administration in its tracks. We must no longer stand for their burdensome government micromanagement of agriculture and heavy handed regulations in their war against American energy.”

“Designating the lesser prairie-chicken as an endangered species is more than federal overreach,” said Rep. Mann. “It is a proxy war on American agriculture and energy sectors that are vital to our economy. At a time when inflation is at a 40-year high and families are struggling to fuel their cars while keeping food on their tables, we should be working to eliminate barriers for the agriculture and energy sectors, not hamstringing hardworking Americans. I will continue to work towards upending this ruling. Last week, I submitted a letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office requesting they investigate the ruling and release the findings to the public, and this week, I introduced legislation that will prohibit the listing of threatened or endangered species without Congressional input. It is time for the federal government to get out of the way and stop threatening the livelihoods of the men and women who feed, fuel, and clothe our country.”

“Kansas and surrounding states have invested millions of public and private dollars into conserving the habitat of the lesser prairie-chicken and have been successful in increasing the population of the bird,” said Senator Moran. “Listing the lesser prairie-chicken under the Endangered Species Act puts burdensome regulations on farmers, ranchers and energy producers and will remove any incentive for similar local efforts for wildlife conservation in the future.”  

Background:

• On May 21, 2021, Sens. Marshall and Moran joined their colleagues in urging U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to not list the LPC under the ESA.
• On July 16, 2021, Sens. Marshall and Moran and Rep. Mann led a group of their colleagues in requesting a 90-day extension to the comment period for the proposed listing of the LPC.

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