Kansas congressmen introduce new attempt to overturn protected status of lesser prairie chicken – Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — Kansas congressmen try to make use of a federal instrument to strike down the itemizing of the lesser prairie hen as threatened or endangered, saying defending the birds would have damaging penalties for Kansas’ financial system. 

Federal wildlife officers registered the lesser prairie hen as threatened in Kansas and endangered of their habitat within the southwest United States in November. In keeping with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Companies, the birds have misplaced 90% of their authentic habitat through the years.  Between 2012 to 2022, there was a five-year decline within the inhabitants, with few of the birds discovered of their native Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas. 

Itemizing the lesser prairie hen as endangered or threatened influences grazing and drilling practices within the state, with some lawmakers saying conservation efforts threaten the livelihoods of farmers, ranchers and vitality producers. 

The lesser prairie hen has been the middle of a battle between Kansas Republican lawmakers and environmental activists for years, with three conservation teams suing the federal authorities in 2019 to drive motion on the difficulty. The birds are finest suited to dwelling in giant areas of native grasslands and are identified for a singular spring mating dance. 

Ten Republican congressmen from Oklahoma and Kansas registered their disapproval of the itemizing via a congressional overview act, making a joint decision to try to overturn the ruling on the grounds that it could be dangerous for the agriculture and oil and fuel industries. 

Kansas Sens. Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran joined Reps. Ron Estes, Jake LaTurner and Tracey Mann in introducing the congressional overview act on the Kansas facet, together with U.S. senators and representatives from Oklahoma. 

“Whereas excessive inflation is the best problem dealing with our nation, this itemizing will enhance monetary difficulties for the Kansans who increase cattle to your hamburgers and drill oil to your gasoline,” Marshall mentioned in a Dec. 21 information launch in regards to the overview. “This President says decreasing prices is a precedence, however but once more he’s making choices that can do the precise reverse.”

The congressional overview act is utilized by congress to dam guidelines issued by federal businesses. Beneath the act, an company has to submit a report back to congress on its rule. Congress has a time interval after receiving the report back to submit and act on a joint decision of disapproval.

If the decision passes each homes, the decision may be both signed or vetoed by the president. If vetoed by the president, congress can vote to override the veto. 

The CRA is the final in a sequence of efforts made by Kansas Republicans to overturn lesser prairie-chicken protections. In December, Estes launched a invoice searching for to ban the U.S. Inside Division from imposing restraints on land use based mostly on the standing of the lesser prairie hen.

“Again and again we’ve seen the Biden administration assert their overreaching and burdensome rules on the lives of hardworking Kansans. The latest classification of the lesser prairie hen is one other instance of utilizing Washington bureaucrats to dictate how Kansans stay and work,” Estes mentioned within the information launch. 

Marshall and Moran additionally led efforts in Could and July to register their disapproval of the itemizing.