The decision by a Texas federal court removed the lesser prairie chicken of any endangered or threatened species protections, which were established through a Biden-era ruling. The Trump administration had tried to reverse the designation, on behalf of livestock and oil producers.
The lesser prairie chicken, a dancing grouse that has long teetered between threatened and endangered classifications, lost its federal protections in court in a victory for Great Plains petroleum and cattle industries.
In a Tuesday decision from a Texas federal court, the lesser prairie chicken was stripped of any endangered or threatened species protections, which were established through a Biden-era ruling.
The Trump administration challenged that ruling, arguing it contained mistakes, and the lesser prairi