GOP measures would undo protections for endangered lesser prairie chicken, northern bat
Congress has approved measures to undo federal protections for the lesser prairie chicken and northern long-eared bat
WASHINGTON — Congress has approved two measures to undo federal protections for the lesser prairie chicken and northern long-eared bat — two endangered animals that have seen their populations plummet over the years.
In separate votes Thursday, the House gave final legislative approval to rescind protections for the lesser prairie chicken — a rare prairie bird once thought to number in the millions, but now hover around 30,000, officials said — and the long-eared bat, one of 12 bat types decimated by a fungal disease called white-nose syndrome.
The legislative actions, backed mostly by Republicans, represent rare congressional involvement in matters usually left to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service. The Endangered Species Act tasks the agencies with deciding which animals and plants to list as endangered or threatened and how to rebuild their populations.
The lesser prairie chicken, which belongs to the grouse family, is found in parts of the Midwest and Southwest, including one of the country’s most prolific oil and gas fields — the oil-rich Permian Basin in New Mexico and Texas. The bird's range also extends into parts of Colorado, Oklahoma and Kansas, but has diminished across about 90% of its historical range, officials said.
The House voted 221-206 to reverse protections for the prairie bird.
A separate 220-209 vote would overturn protections for the northern long-eared bat, which has seen its population reduced by 97% or more in some areas because of white-nose syndrome. The bat is found in 37 eastern and north-central states, plus Washington, D.C., and
Read more on abcnews.go.com
