Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities


** Senate votes to end protections for lesser prairie chicken
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Thursday, May 4, 2023
Lesser prairie chicken. Photo: Always a birder! ([link removed]) via Flickr

On Wednesday, the United States Senate passed ([link removed]) a resolution that denies Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for the critically imperiled lesser prairie chicken. The species was listed for ESA protections last fall by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which cited research demonstrating that 90 percent of the lesser prairie chicken's habitat in the Great Plains has diminished, causing populations to plummet toward extinction.

The legislation now requires executive approval, but President Joe Biden has already ([link removed]) vowed to veto S.J. Res. 9 ([link removed]) . Just hours before the Senate vote, a statement ([link removed]) released by the Office of Management and Budget expressed strong opposition to the resolution, reading, “Overturning common-sense protections for the lesser prairie chicken would undermine America’s proud wildlife conservation traditions” and “risk the extinction of a once-abundant American bird."

Proponents of the resolution believe ESA protections for the species are unnecessary, despite a 97 percent ([link removed]) decline in lesser prairie chicken population since 1960. Kansas politicians championed the joint resolution—United States Senator Roger Marshall and Representative Tracey Mann argued that voluntary efforts by farmers, ranchers, and the oil and gas industry have helped to improve the bird’s habitat, eliminating the need for an ESA listing rule.

Historically, oil and gas development has proven to be harmful ([link removed]) to threatened bird species. In 2019, protections for greater sage-grouse—an indicator species whose populations are used to monitor the health of the sagebrush ecosystem—were diminished by the Trump administration to make way for oil and gas drilling on public lands. As a result, the sage-grouse population continues ([link removed]) to decrease.
Quick hits


** Biden rule protecting lesser prairie chicken overturned by U.S. Senate
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Associated Press ([link removed]) | Kansas Reflector ([link removed]) | KWCH ([link removed])


** New Mexico delegation renews push for broader Chaco protection
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Associated Press ([link removed])


** California back at bargaining table over Colorado River cuts
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E&E News ([link removed])


** Opinion: National monuments preserve our natural heritage
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Cap Times ([link removed])


** Group calls on New Mexico to crack down on air pollution releases from oil and gas
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Carlsbad Current-Argus ([link removed])


** At Zion National Park, too many people, too little management
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** Opinion: Rosendale's off-base proposal to defund public land protection
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Flathead Beacon ([link removed])


** Planned uranium drilling near Bears Ears sparks pushback
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E&E News ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” Our 131 national monuments are a precious part of national heritage, one that future generations deserve the right to see and enjoy.”
—Spencer Black, Cap Times ([link removed])
Picture this


** @BLMNational ([link removed])
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It's #NationalWildFlowerWeek ([link removed]) . Get out on #YourPublicLands ([link removed]) and enjoy the beauty of spring. Just remember, #wildflowers ([link removed]) are for looking, not picking. Pollinators, birds and wildlife rely on them for food and shelter.

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