WASHINGTON D.C. — The Institute for Energy Research responded to today’s announcement by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) that the agency will consider the lesser prairie-chicken as a “threatened” species under the Endangered Species Act. According to FWS, the action is a part of a “comprehensive, court-approved agreement” to address “habitat loss, fragmentation, modification, and degradation within the species’ range.” Additionally, the agency noted that “land uses related to wind energy and transmission . . . present conservation challenges for the lesser prairie-chicken.” The areas affected by the action include major energy producing regions in West Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado.
IER Senior Vice President for Policy, Daniel Kish, released the following statement:
“Today’s action is the latest example of the consequences of the Obama administration’s ‘sue and settle’ strategy, in which the Administration and special interest groups negotiate friendly settlements that give both parties what they want. The lesser prairie-chicken is but one of 250 species the Administration has agreed to review for listing. The full extent of this particular listing on domestic energy production is yet unkown, but it cannot be positive. Multiply today’s action by 250, and it is easy to get the sense that the president’s “all of the above” energy plan is empty rhetoric. Under these policies, the most endangered species in the United States could become American jobs.”
The Institute for Energy Research (IER) is a not-for-profit organization that conducts intensive research and analysis on the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets. IER maintains that freely-functioning energy markets provide the most efficient and effective solutions to today’s global energy and environmental challenges and, as such, are critical to the well-being of individuals and society.
