Texas lawsuit filed over lesser prairie chicken regulations

As March 2023 came to a close new federal regulations went into effect regarding the lesser prairie chicken; regulations that a number of New Mexicans and Texans see as usurping private property owners rights.

Monday, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller issued a news release in which he labeled the new lesser prairie chicken regulations as a continued attack on agriculture from the Biden administration.

Miller hailed the filing of a lawsuit challenging the designation of the lesser prairie chicken as an endangered species by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Miller reported the Texas Department of Agriculture is a named plaintiff in the lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who successfully achieved an injunction last week in federal court preventing the new rules from taking effect.

“Just as Texas is beginning to recover from historic freezes, record heat and drought over the past three years, the Biden Administration drops this regulatory nugget on our farmers and ranchers,” Miller said. “How much will this add to our already rising food costs?”

Miller went on in his news release to encourage those involved in Texas agriculture to “do your thing. Plant and grow your crops, breed your livestock - and we’ll win in Court again when this case goes to trial,” Miller said. “Folks in Agriculture need to know that we’ve got their back.”

County commissioners in Curry and Roosevelt counties voted to pass resolutions against the new lesser prairie chicken regulations.