Kansas officials weigh in on issue
TOPEKA (AP) — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback criticized the federal government’s decision to add the lesser prairie chicken to its list of threatened species Thursday as an “overreach,” and a spokeswoman said his office is considering a lawsuit.
“This is an overreach on the part of the federal government,” Brownback said in a statement. “We are looking at possible responses on this issue.”
Asked whether that includes a lawsuit, Brownback spokeswoman Sara Belfry said: “That certainly is a possible response.” Attorney General Derek Schmidt also said in a statement that his office is “assessing our legal options.”
U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp, a Republican representing the 1st District of western and central Kansas, said President Barack Obama’s administration is threatening energy production and the property rights of farmers and ranchers. But he acknowledged that the federal government could have gone farther and listed the bird as endangered — with less flexibility in conservation measures.
“Nevertheless, an effective conservation effort must be strictly voluntary if private property is to be respected and our rural way of life to be protected,” Huelskamp said in a statement.
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, another Kansas Republican, said the federal agency’s decision will have “real consequences” for the economy but pledged to work with federal officials.
“I am confident there are ways to address conserving the species while not hampering economic growth and farming and ranching activities,” Moran said in a statement.
Thursday, by the Obama administration announced it would be placing the lesser prairie chicken on a list of threatened species.
Currently, SB 276, “State Sovereignty over Non-migratory Wildlife,” is still under consideration by the Kansas House of Representatives, after passing with a vote of 30-10 in the Senate in February.
A hearing was held on March 5, at which Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the author of the bill, made his case.
According to the supplemental note attached to the bill following the hearing, Kobach stated the birds were non-migratory, did not use rivers or streams for navigation, and therefore it would be an overreach by the federal government to attempt to enforce their protection under the Endangered Species Act , which he said was originally based on “the premise the Congress was using its power to regulate interstate commerce under Art. 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution.
The birds are located throughout the western states of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. The Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, which includes the KDWPT, have been working with agencies in those states to come up with a plan to manage the species while still allowing continued and uninterrupted economic development in the five state area. The plan, called “The Lesser Prairie Chicken Rangewide Conservation Plan,” adopted last year, could preclude the birds from being listed as Endangered.
The listing decision, which will take effect around May 1, includes a special rule that Dan Ashe, director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, said will allow officials and private landowners in that five-state area to manage conservation efforts. This may help to smooth ruffled feathers. Activities such as oil and gas drilling and utility line maintenance that are covered under the conservation plan adopted last year will be allowed to continue.
According to the Associated Press, “Governors of the five affected states opposed listing the bird under the Endangered Species Act. In a joint statement last year, Govs. Rick Perry of Texas, Mary Fallin of Oklahoma, Sam Brownback of Kansas, Susana Martinez of New Mexico and John Hickenlooper of Colorado said their states have all worked with a wide variety of affected groups to develop conservation plans to improve the bird’s habitat while “taking into account economic development needs.”
