A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of three environmental advocacy groups who hope to put the lesser prairie chicken in the endangered species category. The groups say the at-risk bird is not protected enough on the threatened species list, the Los Angeles Times reported.
"The lesser prairie chicken is a highly imperiled species. It is our responsibility to protect our wildlife," Jason Rylander, a senior staff attorney for Defenders of Wildlife, told the L.A. Times on Wednesday.
Rylander filed the lawsuit earlier this week along with the Center for Biological Diversity and WildEarth Guardians.
While the prairie chicken is already listed as threatened with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the difference between threatened and endangered is a huge one, Rylander said.
Since the birds aren't technically endangered, the agency can overlook "incidental takes" of prairie chickens when they are connected with various industries. This distinction covers purposes related to oil and gas, agriculture, wind power, cellphone and radio towers, power lines, construction and roads, according to the L.A. Times.
"It's a loophole so big you could drive a truck through it," Rylander said.
The bird has been the subject of contention between the energy industry and environmental groups in Kansas and other states, the Wichita Business Journal reported. Conservation advocates say the guidelines for protecting the prairie chicken aren't strenuous enough, while lawmakers and people in the energy sector contend that the government is interfering too much for the bird.
"It is not surprising that these extremist environmental organizations would file a lawsuit in Washington, D.C., that effectively attempts to shut down the energy and agriculture economies of western Kansas," Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback said in a statement quoted by the L.A. Times.
The lesser prairie chicken, which can be found in parts of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas, is medium-sized and has gray and white plumage.
The population fell from 35,000 to 17,000 in 2012, according to a 2013 survey by the Western Assocation of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.
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