Defenders Opposes Senate Legislation to Strip Protections from Endangered Bird

The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote today on S.J Res. 9, an unprecedented attack on the Endangered Species Act, that if made law could permanently strip protections from threatened and endangered populations of lesser prairie-chickens. 

Introduced by Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), the legislation will use the Congressional Review Act to overturn the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule establishing ESA protections for the northern and southern populations of lesser prairie-chicken. A CRA has never before been used to overturn an ESA listing decision. 

“We knew this Congress would be filled with attacks on imperiled species and the Endangered Species Act, but we never imagined the Senate would actually vote on a measure that is likely to cause the extinction of a species,” said Mary Beth Beetham, legislative director for Defenders of Wildlife. “Fifty years ago, the United States made a commitment to use science over politics when protecting our nation’s most at-risk species. This vote flies in the face of that commitment and represents a huge breach of trust.”

Troublingly, if the CRA ultimately is made law, FWS would be prevented from issuing a rule that is “substantially the same” without another act of Congress. While the meaning of “substantially the same” is unclear, creating uncertainty in whether the agency would be able to reestablish protections in the future if declines continue is as bright as day.  

Found on only 10 percent of their former range, lesser prairie-chickens have experienced one of the most precipitous declines of any bird species in the U.S., and removal of ESA protections will be disastrous. From 2021 to 2022 alone, their populations declined by more than 20 percent; and today, only an estimated 27,000 birds remain.