Energy Scorecard

The American Energy Alliance urges all Senators to support S.J. Res. 9 the Congressional Review Act resolution disapproving of the endangered species act listings of the lesser prairie chicken. The listing of the lesser prairie chicken under the ESA is not about actual species conservation, it is about a grasping, overreaching federal government seeking new levers to attack industries they do not like. The chicken is not truly endangered or threatened, numbers rise and fall naturally depending on rainfall patterns, irrespective of human activity. There are already extensive state level efforts to protect rangeland used by the chicken, belying any claimed need for federal intervention. There is even question about whether the two lesser chicken population segments should be considered separately from each other or separately from the closely-related greater prairie chicken. There is a reason why when the Obama administration attempted this listing they were defeated in court. This listing is entirely inappropriate and unnecessary. The real goal is to use this listing as a weapon to shut down grazing and oil and gas development over a whole swath of private land. This administration is seeking to extend the arbitrary and ideological land use restrictions it has imposed on federal lands to private lands. The vast range of the lesser prairie chicken, covering parts of five states, makes it the perfect excuse to pursue this overreach. We have every expectation that this listing will be defeated by court challenges, but that is likely years away and significant harm could be done to landowners in the interim as they are harassed by federal bureaucrats. Far better would be for Congress to nip this overreach in the bud now by voting to disapprove of the listing through the Congressional Review Act.