Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach is suing the Biden Administration over its listing of the wild, colorful lesser prairie chicken under the Endangered Species Act.
Kansas joined Texas and Oklahoma in the suit which says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service broke federal law by failing to adequately consider pre-existing and voluntary measures to protect the birds and ignoring the role of rainfall’s impact on the prairie chicken population. The suit also alleges the designation is unconstitutional and restricts personal property rights of Kansas landowners.
In a statement, Kobach says the listing will make drilling new oil wells in western Kansas almost impossible as it forces ranchers to get approval from federally designated agencies to graze cattle on their own land.
