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A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule declaring the lesser prairie chicken a threatened species has been vacated by a federal judge's ruling.
In his Sept. 1 order, Midland, Texas-based U.S. District Court Judge Robert Junell said the Fish and Wildlife Service did not follow its own rules regarding the Policy for the Evaluation of Conservation Efforts, or PECE. Instead of a thorough evaluation of a rangewide plan developed by Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma, Junell said, the plan was largely ignored by the federal agency as it moved to list the chicken as threatened.
"The court finds FWS's determinations here are not entitled...