LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- A federal lawsuit in Kansas challenging a recent action by the Biden administration on the lesser prairie chicken has been transferred to a federal court in Texas.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas on Monday granted a motion by the federal government to move the case filed in July by a group of Kansas farms, ranchers and counties to the District Court for the Western District of Texas.
In March, the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, state cattle organizations and the state of Texas filed separate lawsuits in Texas court challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (USFWS) endangered species list designation of the lesser prairie chicken.
The plaintiffs in the Kansas case had expressed concern about possible delays in their lawsuit if the case had alternatively been stayed.
Moving the case to Texas is expected to result in consistent rulings on the three similar cases.
The Biden administration finalized a rule on Nov. 25, 2022, extending Endangered Species Act protections to what was the threatened northern distinct population of the bird.
Part of the reason the Biden administration wanted all cases tried in the Texas court is because federal defendants, such as USFWS, are allowed to file motions for summary judgment.
The Kansas court does not allow that procedure in a case like this.
The rule finalized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service split the lesser prairie chicken into two distinct populations for the first time.
The southern population of lesser prairie chickens is now considered endangered in the southern area, which includes parts of western Texas and eastern New Mexico.
The bird is listed as "threatened" in a larger northern territory that includes eastern Colorado, western Kansas, western Oklahoma and a few counties in the Texas Panhandle.
The Kansas plaintiffs asked the court to set aside the final rule regarding the northern population and send the rule back to U.S. Fish and Wildlife.
Pacific Legal Foundation filed the Kansas lawsuit on behalf of Lone Butte Farm, LLC; Schilling Land, LLC; JDC Farms, Inc.; and the Kansas Natural Resource Coalition. The coalition represents 30 county boards of commissioners in the state.
The Edwards and Schilling families have operated their farms and ranches in western Kansas for generations.&t;/p>
The administration's change on the lesser prairie chicken means livestock producers in parts of five states are required to create grazing plans mainly to protect themselves from conducting activities deemed as harmful to the species.
The Kansas lawsuit outlines how the change in listing of the lesser prairie chicken has affected farms, ranches and counties.
Read more on DTN:
"Lesser Prairie Chicken Cases in Flux," https://www.dtnpf.com/…
Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com
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