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Originally Published in Concho Valley Homepage on August 14, 2025

Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) applauded in a press release in response to a ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas vacating the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) 2022 listing of the Lesser Prairie Chicken (LPC) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

“The Biden Administration’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service weaponized the Endangered Species Act to target American energy production in the Permian Basin, using species like the Lesser Prairie Chicken as one of their tools,” said Pfluger. “These listings were completely misguided, ignoring the vigilant conservation efforts already underway in West Texas. This week, a district court confirmed what we’ve been saying all along and rightfully struck down the listing, ruling that a ‘foundational error’ was made. I applaud the court’s decision as a major step forward in ending the years-long attack on farmers, ranchers, and energy producers across Texas. We can—and must—protect important species without sacrificing the livelihoods of our local and rural communities that power our nation.”

Under the Biden Administration, the Lesser Prairie Chicken was listed as an endangered species. Some speculated that it was ignoring the conservation efforts already being made by Texas and Kansas farmers, ranchers and agricultural and energy producers. The efforts resulted in net acreage conservation gains for the Dunes Sagebrush Lizards’ habitat and increased the Lesser Prairie Chicken population stated the press release.

Earlier in the year, Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) and Congressman Tracey Mann (KS-01) sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum urging him to reverse the listing of the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard and the Lesser Prairie Chicken from the threatened and endangered species list. They did this in hopes of that it would unleash American energy, highlight the success of local conservation efforts and restore regulatory certainty for rural communities stated the press release.