Home / Environment / Conservation Groups Seek to Overturn Removal of Lesser Prairie Chicken Protections
Conservation Groups Seek to Overturn Removal of Lesser Prairie Chicken Protections
8 Sep
Summary
- Conservation groups appeal court decision to strip federal protections for the lesser prairie chicken
- The southern population of the bird is at risk of "blinking out entirely"
- Reversal of protections by Trump administration criticized as "anti-science"
In September 2025, conservation groups are appealing a court decision that removed federal protections for the lesser prairie chicken, a near-flightless bird found in the grasslands of the Great Plains. The Biden administration had previously designated the southern population of the bird as "endangered" and the northern population as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act.
However, in August 2025, a Texas judge stripped these federal safeguards for the chicken, following a reversal by the Trump administration in May 2025. The Trump administration claimed there was a "fundamental error" in the Biden administration's listing of the bird, siding with opponents that included several states and industry groups.
Now, the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity has filed an appeal, arguing that the Trump administration's decision had no legal or scientific basis. Experts warn that the southern population of the lesser prairie chicken is at severe risk of disappearing entirely, as the species faces habitat loss from industry and climate change.
The legal battle over the prairie chicken's protections is part of a broader concern about the "anti-science, scorched-earth approach to environmental conservation" taken by the Trump administration, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. As the appeal moves forward, the fate of this unique grassland bird hangs in the balance.
