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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via Reuters
The lesser prairie chicken could get listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act.
WASHINGTON -- A move by U.S. authorities to consider placing a small grassland bird native to parts of the oil and gas belt on the Endangered Species List has drawn the ire of some Western lawmakers.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Friday announced a plan to consider having the lesser prairie chicken listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act.
The lesser prairie chicken is a medium-sized, gray-brown grouse, smaller and paler than the greater prairie chicken, its close relative.
Once found in abundant numbers across much of Southeastern Colorado, Eastern New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, Western Oklahoma and Western Kansas, the lesser prairie-chicken's historical range of native grasslands and prairies has been reduced by an estimated 84 percent, the service said.
Lawmakers in major oil and gas producing districts immediately cried foul.
"A listing will have permanent economic consequences for the people of Texas who live and work in the Permian Basin and the Texas Panhandle," said Representative Michael Conaway, a Republican.
Conaway's sprawling West Texas district produces much of the state's oil and about one-quarter of its gas.
Protecting the lesser prairie-chicken "could drive ranching families and energy producers out of business," said Republican Representative Randy Neugebauer, whose district in East-Central Texas is a large agricultural area.
New Mexico's Steve Pearce, chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, said federal species regulation was being "driven by lawyers for extreme interest groups."
"Listing cannot come soon enough for the lesser prairie chicken," said Taylor Jones, endangered species advocate for WildEarth Guardians, a Santa Fe environmental group that at one point sued the federal government in an attempt to protect the birds from oil and gas drilling.
The Fish and Wildlife Service has opened a 90-day comment period on the lesser prairie-chicken and is seeking input from the public and from the scientific community before making its final decision. Four public hearings will be held in February.
In the meantime, a number of state and federal agencies are working on a voluntary conservation planning effort to conserve the bird's habitat.
"Regardless of whether the lesser prairie-chicken ultimately requires protection under the ESA, its decline is a signal that our native grasslands are in trouble," said Benjamin Tuggle, Regional Director for the Service's Southwest Region.
"We know that these grasslands support not only dozens of native migratory bird and wildlife species, but also farmers, ranchers and local communities across the region," Tuggle said.
Lesser prairie chickens are considered "vulnerable," a step short of endangered, by the UK-based International Union for Conservation of Nature, whose "red list" tracks the conservation status of various species worldwide.
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Leave a Comment:
You can't please everyone!
Thank You!!! No matter what is being done, someone is going to be crying "fowl" somewhere.....
Till, nice pun.
Back to the article. I think the EPA has been given too much unbridled "muscle" since it's inception.
Libtards waging war on the free markets. The could give a damn about American jobs.
So don't vote them in office. Think before you VOTE!!!
The environmental lobby has been ineffective in their crusade against the energy industry so now they are trying to use the ESA and a gullible federal agency to do their work for them. This has a lot more to do with the environmental organizations wanting to stop energy exploration than it does with any desire to protect this bird. What people need to understand is that 99.9% of all the species that have ever lived on this planet are now extinct. Extinction is part of the natural cycle of things and is not something that needs to be prevented at all costs for every species. Unless we are talking about a species that plays a larger role in the overall ecosystem there needs to be much more thought put into whether or not protecting the species is even warranted. I know that to many this sounds like a very cold and uncaring position to take, but it is based on the reality of nature. The current push by the environmental lobby to protect all species regardless of the cost simply does not make sense. Does protecting this relatively insignificant species really warrant potentially putting tens of thousands of people out of work and taking away a rancher's ability to make a living off of the land that he owns. Environmental conservation needs to be tempered with a dose of economic reality. The current extremist position of the various environmental groups is simply not realistic or logical.
JS. Yep!
I repeat... it is time to abolish the EPA. This derelict government bureauacracy has been like a wrecking ball to the economy and in particular to the lumber and mining, oil and gas industries.
The day will come when "Humans" will be at the top of the Endangered Species List. What type of prairie chicken will come to our aid ? I think we need to protect us " Humans " and stop trying to please the lobbist who drive this stuff.
Thanks for reading !
It seems to me like it would be easy for the energy industry to avoid this trouble if they wanted to... all they'd need to do is prevent them from becomming endangered. I bet they could that for cheap if they'd start or fund a breeding program. It would probably be much cheaper than even paying their lawyers to fight this action. If they breed and release thousands of them each year then the bird won't become endangered and there will be no problems.
I know some of you will think to yourselves that they shouldn't have to do that, but the reality is that every business has a responsibility to the communities in which they operate and should not leave those communities worse for their operating in them, even if those communities are located on the prarie and are inhabited by cool looking wild chickens.
JS. Very well put, couldn't have done better. This "libtard", as some so eloquently put, is all for protecting animals...to a point. Yes, we should lessen our environmental impact whenever possible, but man should ultimately win out. Tree hugging and stopping all progress is just a bad idea. But abolish the EPA? Rebuild/remodel would be a better idea. We all know damn well what industries would do without any environmental regulations placed upon them, the oil and chemical ones especially.
I think my personal favorite is the bird vs. wind turbine. Seriously, if a bird is not smart enough to avoid hitting something that large, that's Darwinism in action!
Not to worry. As fracking is being found to be poisoning water supplies and killing livestock, the bird doesn't stand a chance. The energy producers will destroy the enviroment all on their own. texas will be a vast wasteland incapable of supporting life soon enough.
or even every chicken... ;)
JS- I couldn't agree more with your comments regarding the actual motive, but couldn't agree less with you on the point of extinction being part of the natural course of events.
Extinction events like this planet has had in the last 500 years are in line, historically speaking, with MAJOR climate shifts or ecological events that have resulted in MASS extinction of all primary species. It is NOT within the "natural order" of things for one species to cause the mass extinction of others without major, major consequences. (The last time this truly happened was back when chlorophyll-using organisms wiped out early bacteria). What we are doing is FAR from natural, and to believe there will not be potentially catastrophic consequences to us is a shockingly ignorant position to take.
Easily done. Just make them a food staple. We eat millions of chickens a day, and there are still billions of chickens.
It's unlikely that they would ever be useful as a food staple since the article says they are small. The chickens we eat are a specific variety of bird that grows quickly and grows large so that they are profitable to chicken farms. But I don't think you are wrong in that if there were some economic value to the birds that it's far less likely that they would be endangered since we would be breeding them for that purpose. It would still be cheap to breed them for release into the wild though, especially when compared to the downright ridiculous profits the oil companies make from drilling in these areas.
Oh yeah, protecting this species is going to be the end of the world for the US Econonmy.
A bunch of squacking by those that feather their nest with Petrodollars. Don't the farmers/ranchers have a 2 year + drought that is doing a better job than any Federal Protections can of extracting profits? Might be time to slow down putting another well or fracking site up. Use that reclaimed water you'll save for watering crops and cattle, if it is so safe.
Fracking's Health and Environmental Impacts Greater Than Claimed
Cornell Chronicle: Report exposes fracking's effects on animals
Cornell Chronicle: Report exposes fracking's effects on animals
North Dakota's Oil Boom Brings Damage Along With Prosperity
TEDX — Chemicals in Natural Gas Operations: Overview
When WILL it be time to stop destroying environments for Native Species? When it is all gone? Cry us a river.
Those saying breed and release mor of them are simply overlooking what removing the environment that supports these and many other animals being encroached upon and never left in as pristine a condition as before operations lessen conditions found in a Natural Environment. Shortsighted suggestion that evades the impacts of Energy and Ranching impacts.
On three...shill!
Tastes like spotted owl.
Without the bison industry there would not be anywhere near the numbers that there are now, even though they grow at a much slower rate than domestic cattle. No reason that there could not be something similar, albeit a niche industry, with all 3 of the grouse species that are in trouble. As a matter of fact the same land used for private buffalo herds would most likely be great for the birds.
http://www.bisoncentral.com/about-bison/history
You've got the right idea, but a 1500 lb bison is a far cry from a 1/2 lb bird.
They are a bit larger than that more like the size of a small chicken. Obviously it would never be more than a niche market. But the same private land used for bison would also be great for them.
http://www.environment.ok.gov/documents/OKWindEnergy/EcologyMgmtLesserPrairieChicken.pdf
It's not about protecting a bird. It's protecting the few last remaining members of an entire species.
Sad to say entire species are becoming extinct every day while "new" ones are being discovered.... how are we to save them all??? and should we? natural selection and nature's balance are being affected by our decisions all the time (some thoughtless and some thoroughly thought out)
Hopefully the next species to become extinct will be the Republican Party.
Ourdoc, Liberals would be a better species.
Ourdoc & Neg,
If you don't like our two party system, or the contrast between Republicans & Liberals, why don't you move to China or Iran where they have really strong single party systems.
Idiots!
Mike, you exhibit the typical tolerance of the Left!
BTW, there's Liberals on both sides.
Yes, by all means, DEATH to any and all species that cannot develop a tolerance for the environmental devastation wrought by man ! When we get down to a planet covered with Humans, Cows, Pigs, Domestic fowl & GM plants, we will have established UTOPIA !
Anyone familiar with the concept of "the canary in the coal mine" ?
The Obama regime's war on coal is threatening to make the mine canary extinct.
Screw the energy industry!!!! Bunch of greedy no account money grubbers who will stop at nothing to make a buck. They don't care what they destroy or what they kill in the wanton pursuit of profit
jim you are using a computer that requires a certain amount of power to run which means a certain amount of energy will be consumed to run your computer so you can make this post. It is not just the greedy energy industry that is the problem is is the "entitled consumer" that is also a problem. The global consumer based economy supports the greedy industry titans worldwide not just in the US. If you really wanted to make a difference you would ensure you consume as little as humanly possible. Of which you do consume you would ensure that as much of what you do consume is sustainable which I promise is far harder than you think. Stop and think about how few things are available from a truly sustainable source, meaning not just the production of a product but its packaging and distribution and advertising of said product. We can all do better which means to me that we should not judge to harshly. Making a difference starts by looking at yourself differently.
So stop buying energy from them. Profit does not magically appear out of thin air.
It never fails to amaze me how angry people get at "greedy no account money grubbing" companies that they eagerly buy things from every day. Its like standing at a gas pump and filling your car up with gas and scratching your head wondering why oil companies have so much money.... BECAUSE YOU GIVE IT TO THEM.
If you want industrialized stuff like cars, computers and canned soup then there is a price to pay.
If not then there is a price to pay for that too! Go live in a cave, no one is stopping you.
The other way is to take it back from them. Now that the DOJ is investigating the fake closing of the refineries in California which caused the unnecessary huge price hike there, hopefully it will bring some money back to the consumers and put some oil executives in prison. The only way to stop greedy scum is to take them out of the equation.
Skookum, you are one brain dead jack a$$. Perhaps you can retreat to your cave with your modest collection of sticks and twigs and rub a couple of rocks together to start a fire.
Not to worry. Those energy producers are all on the level.
http://www.businessinsider.com/fracking-poison-pennsylvania-water-2012-11
By all means. Get rid of the greedy scum who know how to produce and distribute energy and replace them with greedy scum that don't.
You are contributing to that by using a computer to post your dialogue here. You are killing the prairie chicken.
I better act fast... That bird looks tasty!
Oh, and I love reading these responses. I love the way Liberals think money, energy, etc. just appears out of thin air.
"I love the way Liberals think money, energy, etc. just appears out of thin air."
Well maybe they, at leas,t they may be thinking.
What a stupid statement.
At the risk of feeding the troll, I will respond. I don't think anything appears out of thin air. I just don't believe in destroying our world to obtain energy. Oil companies will kill us all to make an extra dollar. It is these type of mercenary actions which must be regulated. If it will save a species, I am willing to pay extra on my electric bill. THAT is the morality that the right lacks- they will allow energy companies to kill us and our environment in order to knock a nickle of their electric bills.
Don't worry. they will be poisoning the air soon enough. Go ahead and let thenm do whatever they want. Then they walk away from the destruction and the taxpayers can foot the cleanup bill if anything's left at that point.
http://www.businessinsider.com/fracking-poison-pennsylvania-water-2012-11
Scalzo, you miss the point of capitalism. Once they create the problem, they create more wealth fixing the problem.
Don't cry foul at the government. Put the blame on the hunters that wiped out the bird to the point it needs protection!
Now here a guy blaming the hunters probably another anti gun jerk!!!! Sorry just had to get thjis one in the posts....
If you had read the article you would of LEARNED that the lesser prairie chicken is threatened by loss of habitat, not over hunting or even hunting! Does the saying "2 tacos short of of combo plate" fire any neurons in your brain?
"2 tacos short of of combo plate"? Never heard that one before! That's some funny sh*t right there!
I was stationed in CA for most of my 21 yrs in the USN and my favorite version of this saying is "He's not driving in the center lane."
The less Prairie chicken sure is cuter then the stupid spider they have on the list. Put the chicken on the list like previous people said, can't please everyone.
I live in "The Forest City," a place with hundreds of thousands of trees, yet there is woodpecker that for four years has attacked the pillars on my house. I've sprayed and fumigated in case there are insects, and I've even sheathed the columns with metal, and still the damn bird attacks my pillars. I've hung shiny metal streamers and owl-fetishes and everything I can think of and every single hint I can find on how to make Woody peck at one of the fifteen trees just on my land, let alone the countless ones I can see from here. Since the blasted thing is "protected" the only recommendations I can find are to "shoot, shovel and shut-up." The pillars will cost nearly $15k to replace and the fine for killing at woodpecker is $1,500. I no longer care if it is the last woodpecker on earth. I've currently budgeted $3k for a pair just in case there's more than one. Woody's gonna die. And, it's not just my house - he's attacked three of us in a row. My neighbors' house looks like it should be in Gaza. I wish animal services would catch and release the bugger, but it seems that they can't interfere with wildlife; all they can do is fine me if they find him dead from a combination of fruit, suet and rat poison. Insurance won't pay to replace the pillars.
If God really wanted these birds around, He would have made them hornier; there'd be so many of them that they wouldn't be called the Lesser Prairie Chicken, they'd be called the Freakin' Everywhere Prairie Chicken, and there would be a chain of drive-throughs called Kentucky Fried Prairie Chicken selling Prairie Chicken nuggets.
It's been nearly a century since the last passenger pigeon died and nobody is crying that there is one less flying rat to crap on cars. Boo-freakin'-hoo.
Pellet gun and a shovel should take care of Woody. Be careful though if you bury them on your property you'll likely be fined by the EPA for polluting the groundwater and the state will fine and throw you in jail for running a cementary with out the proper license and business permits. Sounds like your screwed one way or the other!
They were Freaking Everywhere until humans destroyed their habitat. Do you think god is ok with us wiping out one of his species?
Love watching the squirrels running around, but when they get into my tomatoes?
Rocket J is getting a pellet in his furry little behind.
To all the horrified masses; I only pump it 5 times, and aim for their butts. At the range I working with, my kill rate is zero, it only stings, and tells them that the garden is a very unsafe place to be. I don't want to off them, just make them leave. Or stay in the neighbors yard!
That is still excessive force. You only need to pump it twice.
Re: Theo-3270314 "They were Freaking Everywhere until humans destroyed their habitat. Do you think god is ok with us wiping out one of his species?"
Dear Theo: According to Genesis 1:28, God said to Adam & Eve that He gave them "dominion over every living thing" including the "birds of heaven." Later, in Genesis 7:4, he told Noah that He would "wipe off the face of the Earth every living thing that I have made." So, yeah, I would say this it is okay by God to finish off a species. At least, according to Him. I would also like to point out that nowhere in the Sermon on the Mount did Jesus say, "Blessed are the Woodpeckers and Lesser Prairie Chickens, . . . ."
morey, your post literally sickens me. woodpeckers like dead trees to nest in and live in. do you have any of those around or did you cut them all down because they offended you. if you and your friends hate them so much sell your house and move to the city. i seriously hope you get caught and fined if you kill them.
The guy blaming the hunters obviously doesn't understand how hunting works in this day and age. If you want to eradicate a certain species from an area, the LAST thing you want to do is allow us to hunt it.
I think it's the cold causing the birds to stop breeding. We need to warm up the climate about 10 degrees to put them in the mood.
CHUCKLE!
I have never seen a lesser prairie chicken in my entire life. The land they occupy is valuable for the continuation of the American dream. Oil and gas drilling has kept Texas solvent for a long time. I believe the oil and gas entities have a right to say 'no to protecting them. This is just like the bleeding hearts in NYC mounting a movement to protect those 'cute little prairie dogs' a few years back. If someone wants a prairie chicken, let them support a flock of them in their yard.
omg the ignorance on the thread is scary. you have never seen one because they a scarce because we have let farmers and energy and development decimate their habitat. enough is enough. this earth is not our alone. open your eyes and see what we are losing
Sorry, but knowing many ranchers in the Texas area, they are the best stewards of our land. So referencing that protecting this bird would be a problem for the Ranchers is absurd. The ranchers have lived in harmony with many a species for a very long time. It is the greedy land-raping gas and oil "people" who are most intersted in promoting the extinction of any and all species provided their demise line their wallets.
Rare bird??? never! you can enjoy beef pink in the middle but always make sure pork & poultry are completly cooked.
Good one!
If someone tries to ruin my life over an animal i would be pretty pissed off. If i have to choose between my livelihood, my loved one's livelihood, or an animal i would always be against the animal. They would have to compensate me big time to convince me to give up my livelihood. It really aggravates me when people want to summarily protect a given animal species while not taking into account whether or not such a move could destroy people's lives.
To all the idiots that voted for him.......
Good for you!
Anyone know how they taste?
Like chicken???
Like grouse.
http://wildlife.state.co.us/WildlifeSpecies/Profiles/Birds/Pages/LesserPrairieChicken.aspx
Thanks, Bassai!
So it is not a new issue. Though most against protections seem surprised actions are being considered at a Federal Level now. And act as though no such threats exist.
Did not think so.
Who are the alarmists again?
Definitely not a new issue, it goes back many decades. Nonetheless I am not convinced that a shot gun approach by the Feds is the solution.
A reasonable objection without insults! You are definately getting an FR. Always good when people contribute to discussion rather than just blast ignorance.
I do feel that if we do not do more to prevent this trend of closing out undisturbed expanses regardless of the chcken/grouse, woodpecker, lizard, turtle, water basin, old growth or native dune, what have you, then we have proven the cycle of Man is unconcerned about looking towards a responsible future, let alone present/past, in which we do not directly push to extinction most of those species plentiful in the not so distant past. Mosquitos, fleas, bedbugs, lice, rats, etc I would not miss so much.
:)
Just do not have time to see the glaciers that have and are disappearing, make it to the last coral gardens, swim in water you can drink without getting ill after 51 years of seeing it go to @!$%# around the World. So I do have a soft spot for those things being wiped out since my own childhood, and wish for my daughter to enjoy some after I die.
It doesn't look real good...
Peace.
Screw the feds and secede. This is a VERY good reason to leave the United States. This would spell the complete devastation of the economies of Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. These States should stand their ground and leave the United States if the tyrants from the US government attempt this. Millions of lives would be destroyed by this, either the government should find another solution, or the benefit of being a US citizen will no longer exist for New Mexicans, Texans, and Oklahomans ------- time to quit the Union.
Nothing but a bunch of sky is falling hysteria. If the species is "listed" hardly anyone will notice any change. Get a grip.
As for the seceding thing - do you have to be a texan to sign it? I want to help them go if I can.
As I said, we'd like to thank the EPA for expanding the ranks of Texas nationalism.
I was thinking the same thing. Too bad that the so-called 'environmentalists' aren't an endangered species. The world would be a better place without them.
Pretty harsh, Tammy.
It must hurt to not be able to accept that the fact that the opposite is happening is true.
For better or worse, it is.
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Peace
Texans and New Mexicans should go out and kill ALL remaining lesser prairie chickens in order to preserve their livelihoods.
It always amazes me how people use their brains when confronting an issue like this. Weighing the pros and cons of an issue and making a good decision seems to elude so many. Seeing people prioritize animals over humans to the point of encouraging abortion of our own young is utterly disgusting. The inability to weigh the advantages of modern technology and how it has benefitted people and improved millions of lives is astounding. I have one simple statement for those who make these priorities...you sick $#@@# may you be dealt with harshley when your creator sets judgement on your soul.
The biggest endangered species is fossil fuel - and for good reason.
Praise be the day oil, natural gas, and coal are gone. As for the jobs that dry up for that - how did Darwin put it, survival of the fittest? And, to any conservative prudes who don't "cotton" to my sentiments here, enjoy a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Remember, Obama and the Dems' are still in power come January. Do have a pleasant holiday.
Jin, with that attitude, I can see why you voted for Obama.
PS: Go live in a cave and live off the land. You know, do your part and conserve.
Humans are animals too.
Yes, but at >7 billion I don't think we can claim we need any kind of protection.
I'd like to thank the EPA and its boss for their support of Texas independence. Every heavy-handed tyrannical move you make recruits more Texans into our ranks.
Win-Win situation.
This is the tail wagging the dog. Lesser prairie chickens can be restored by (a) creating habitat on lands where they've been lost and (b) farming them, that is breeding them, and (c) marking the new habitats off limits to hunting. Eastern Kansas was devoid of wild turkeys for many years. Now they're back in numbers safe enough to hunt. There are areas where common game birds are not allowed to be hunted. They are farmland that has been left with grain on it. The birds will fly in high, circle over it, slowly spiraling down to land. They take off in the reverse manner.
Tree huggers don't understand that! They're mostly all knee jerk reactionists.
Don't get out much? Don't SCUBA dive? Don't live near any dead creeks? Not in a drought zone, either??
Lucky you.
The rest of us know that we have to protect our greatly diminished resources, especially our Ecosystems, Esturaries, Prairie Lands, Old Wood Forests and Animal Species from being finished off. If left to the devices of those reaping the immense profits, which I do not begrudge their making healthy return on investment, ther would be nothing left.
Get a grip, because it is a Puppet Show that has your attention, not some damned chicken. You like Punch, I like Judy.
In one ear and out the other.
Maybe we should try to make this a win-win situation.... Develop more sensitive methods of Petroleum development, so we do not make a bunch of West Texans impovished....
And Old Doc, despite your hunger to get the big greedy executive, punitive ecological measures hurt the common worker, NOT the big greedy executive... And please grow up about making the GOP extinct... They have as much a right to exist as you.....
Try being a Democrat, not a Nazi please......