Federal protections end for the lesser prairie chicken

A ground-dwelling bird known for its elaborate mating dances on the southern Great Plains will no longer be federally protected. That's after the Trump administration agreed with three states and the beef and petroleum industries that the lesser prairie chicken was improperly listed under the Endangered Species Act. The groups and the states had sued to delist the lesser prairie chicken. Thursday's delisting lifts special federal rules to avoid disruptions to the birds' habitat in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. The lesser prairie chicken has declined from a population in the millions to only about 30,000 now.