Kansas enters lawsuit over lesser prairie chicken

TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNW) – Kansas has officially entered a lawsuit over the rare lesser prairie chicken. The bird can be found in the western part of the state.

In November, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, under the Biden administration, listed the bird as a threatened species in Kansas and endangered in other parts of the country.

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach announced the lawsuit was filed on Tuesday. He sat with the Kansas Capitol Bureau for an exclusive interview to talk about the impact the new rule could have on farmers and ranchers.

“He wouldn’t be able to deviate from that plan unless he got special permission from this agency designated by the federal government. It just changes everything, and it makes ranching less profitable,” Kobach said. “Similarly, the oil industry would find itself in a very bad predicament if they can’t drill wells where they want to drill them.”

The bird lives in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.