The
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today the reopening of the
public comment period on its 2012 proposal to add the lesser
prairie-chicken to the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened
Wildlife. The public comment period will b...e reopened for 45 days to
allow an opportunity for the public, the scientific community and other
interested parties to provide input on the original listing proposal in
light of a newly-released range-wide conservation plan for the species.
Read more by clicking on the link!
The reopened comment period also allows the public to review and
comment on a proposed special rule that, if approved, would foster
conservation of the lesser prairie-chicken and give landowners across
the species’ range additional flexibility to manage their land, should
the species require protection as a threatened species under the
Endangered Species Act. The proposed special rule, issued under Section
4(d) of the ESA, would allow take of lesser prairie-chicken incidental
to activities carried out through the Natural Resources Conservation
Service's Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative and activities included in
comprehensive prairie-chicken conservation programs developed by or in
coordination with the state fish and wildlife agencies. The 4(d) rule
would only be implemented if the lesser prairie-chicken were to be
listed.
Comments