Tracey Mann: “I thank the gentleman for his leadership, his friendship, and for having this Special Order tonight. We have talked…”

“I thank the gentleman for his leadership, his friendship, and for having this Special Order tonight. We have talked about a lot of different species this evening, and I rise to discuss the misuse of the Endangered Species Act as it pertains to the lesser prairie chicken and its negative impact on farmers, ranchers, agriculture, and oil producers throughout The Big First District of Kansas. On April 19, President Biden didn't listen to Congress when it came to our bipartisan joint resolution of disapproval on his administration's flawed and burdensome Waters of the U.S. or WOTUS rule. He vetoed it. Soon, I hope that President Biden will have another opportunity to listen to producers when it comes to the lesser prairie chicken. Last year, the Biden administration proposed the listing of the northern and southern distinct populations of the lesser prairie chicken as threatened and endangered, respectively, under the Endangered Species Act. That ruling became active this March. Under the Endangered Species Act, the normal activity of agriculture and energy production can be construed as harm and harassment of the listed species and thus prohibited. This rule fails to provide adequate protections for producers, even going so far as to require third-party approved grazing plans for ranchers. To make matters worse, when the lesser prairie chicken rule went into effect in March, the Fish and Wildlife Service had not approved any third parties.…”