WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration said Thursday,on March 27,
it is placing a grassland grouse known as the lesser prairie chicken on a list of threatened species,
a move that could affect oil and gas drilling, wind farms and other activities in five central
and southwestern states.
The decision by the Fish and Wildlife Service is a step below "endangered" status
and allows for more flexibility in how protections for the bird will be carried out
under the Endangered Species Act.
Dan Ashe, the agency's director, said he knows the decision will be unpopular with governors
in the five affected states — Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico —
but said the agency was following the best science available.
"The lesser prairie-chicken is in dire straits," Ashe said in an interview. "The bird is in decline
and has been in decline for more than a decade."
Way to go!
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