Info from USFWS

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has completed initial reviews of Endangered Species Act (ESA) petitions and found that that the petitioned action may be warranted. A petition to list the lesser prairie-chicken as endangered will move to the next phase, where the species will undergo a thorough status review.

In July 2016, the lesser prairie-chicken was removed from the ESA List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife following a September 2015 court order from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, which vacated the Service's 2014 listing rule. In the spring of 2015, the Service began assessing the biological status of the lesser prairie-chicken to ensure future actions related to the species are based on the best available science. That assessment is expected to be completed in the summer of 2017.

Statement by U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-KS)

“It’s absolutely ridiculous that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service would try to list the Lesser Prairie Chicken as an endangered species. Just this past July, FWS withdrew the Lesser Prairie Chicken from a federal list of threatened species. They are simply ignoring the fact that the bird’s population has increased by 50 percent in recent years. I continue to oppose any federal efforts to list the Lesser Prairie Chicken as an endangered species and I will work the incoming administration to ensure state-led volunteer conservation practices remain the best approach for success.”