Trump administration delists lesser prairie chicken; that’s what cattlemen wanted

Published 5:30 am Friday, February 27, 2026

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the lesser prairie chicken from the endangered species list, a move sought by cattlemen in America’s heartland.

Fish and Wildlife finalized the delisting Feb. 26 with a notice in the Federal Register. The notice completed a reversal in the service’s position that began with President Trump’s election.

The agency told a Texas judge last year it erred in 2022 in giving the bird protection under the Endangered Species Act. U.S. District Court Judge David Counts in August granted the service’s motion to cancel the listing.

The National Cattlemen’s Association celebrated the delisting. Listing the lesser prairie chicken unnecessarily hindered grazing and voluntary conservation, according to NCBA.

“Grazing creates robust, sustainable habitat for the bird and by removing this listing the Trump administration is helping ranchers contribute to stewardship,” NCBA President Gene Copenhaver said in a statement.

An estimated 32,000 lesser prairie chickens inhabit grasslands and shrublands in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Agriculture and energy production have eliminated habitat, according to Fish and Wildlife.

In 2022, the service listed lesser prairie chickens in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle as threatened. Another group that straddles the Texas-New Mexico border to the south was listed as endangered.

The southern group was smaller and isolated from the northern group, but Fish and Wildlife concluded its survival was “significant” to preserving the species throughout its range.

Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma joined cattlemen and oil producers in challenging the listing. The federal government initially defended the listing. Judge Counts denied letting environmental groups join the lawsuits, ruling the government adequately represented their interests.

Fish and Wildlife, however, re-evaluated its position after Trump’s election, the service’s acting regional director, Leston Jacks, said in a court declaration.

The agency concluded it didn’t adequately justify finding the southern lesser prarie chickens were “significant.” With that major error, the whole rule was indefensible, according to Fish and Wildlife.

That meant there was a lawsuit against the listing, but no one to defend the listing. Counts said he didn’t have much of a choice, but to vacate the rule.

Along with delisting the lesser prairie chicken, Fish and Wildlife announced Feb. 26 it will conduct a new review of the bird’s status.

The agency said it anticipates making a new finding by Nov. 30, 2026. The agency said the bird’s status should be worse by then. At least 16 state, federal and private conservation programs are trying to preserve the bird.

The Center for Biological Diversity and the Texas Campaign for the Environment are trying to revive the rule with an appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.