|
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
De-listing Puts Lesser Prairie Chicken on Path to Extinction
Numbers Dangerously Low, Major Threats Remain Unaddressed
Contact: Erik Molvar, (307) 399-7910, emolvar@wildearthguardians.org
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that tomorrow it will remove the lesser prairie chicken from the ‘threatened species’ list under the Endangered Species Act. This action will officially end federal protections for this colorful dancing bird, and comes to comply with a court ruling that found the federal agency failed to adequately consider voluntary state and private conservation plans before protecting the bird under the Endangered Species Act.
“Without the mandatory protections of the federal Endangered Species Act we fear the lesser prairie chicken will continue its downward spiral towards extinction,” said Erik Molvar, a wildlife biologist with WildEarth Guardians, a conservation group that has played a major role in advocating for the bird’s protection. “The states’ voluntary conservation plans do little to address the threat of fracking, livestock grazing and industrial agriculture.” Molvar added, “State plans do almost nothing to regulate the industries that are causing the lesser prairie chicken’s disappearance.”
The removal of federal protections is all the more worrisome in light of the recent significant decline in the bird’s population as estimated by state wildlife officials. The slight uptick in lesser prairie population numbers in the two previous years had been hailed by state wildlife agencies and industry representatives as an indication that federal protections were not needed.
“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should act promptly to put state conservation plans and their voluntary, unenforceable measures under the cold, hard lens of scientific scrutiny, and then act swiftly to restore the badly-needed protections of the Endangered Species Act to this rare bird,” said Molvar.
|
|
|
