Yesterday, the U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas issued an order which vacates the Lesser Prairie Chicken listing under the Endangered Species Act, on the basis that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) did not apply the proper criteria for evaluating conservation efforts at the state level. House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) issued the following statement in response:

“The U.S. District Court decision ruled that by listing the Lesser Prairie Chicken as threatened, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been illegally steamrolling states by their own secret rules. The Obama administration has been merciless in its quest to list species – even when the science says otherwise. This is exactly why the House passed provisions to stop FWS from undoing the states’ conservation work on both the Lesser Prairie Chicken and the Sage Grouse.”