Agreement means feds to decide on prairie bird designation

FILE – In this April 7, 1999, file photo, a male lesser prairie chicken climbs a sage limb to rise above the others at a breeding area near Follett, Texas. A federal judge has approved an agreement Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, that will require the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to make a recommendation by May 2021 whether the lesser prairie chicken should be federally protected as a threatened or endangered species. (David Crenshaw/Tulsa World via AP, File)

by: Chris Whited

Posted: Sep 14, 2019 / 12:40 PM CDT

Updated: Sep 14, 2019 / 12:40 PM CDT

DALLAS (AP) — A federal judge has approved an agreement that will require the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to make a recommendation by May 2021 whether the lesser prairie chicken should be federally protected as a threatened or endangered species.

The agreement was reached Thursday between the federal agency and three conservations groups: the Defenders of Wildlife, the Center for Biological Diversity and WildEarth Guardians.

The groups sued the federal government in June to force it to make a designation for the lesser prairie chicken and its habitats.

Once a designation is proposed, there will then be a public comment period followed by a final determination made later by Fish and Wildlife. The agency also could decide that no federal protections be provided for the bird.

It was listed as threatened in 2014 but a federal court overturned the designation.

The grouse roams parts of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, but the groups said fewer than 38,000 remain.