Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman from Washington very much for his leadership with the Western Caucus and for hosting this Special Order tonight. Madam Speaker, I rise today, with my colleagues from the Western Caucus, to highlight progress made in the lesser prairie chicken population recovery through voluntary conservation efforts in Kansas. The lesser prairie chicken is a North American species native to the grasslands and southern Great Plains across New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas. These birds use the open areas of the plains to perform their courtship dance and build their nests on the ground, away from any roads or structures. {time} 2100 My district, the Big First of Kansas, is home to the most extensive range and largest population of the lesser prairie-chicken. Since the 1990s, there have been concerns regarding the lesser prairie-chicken population size and habitat, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has considered listing the bird under the Endangered Species Act on multiple occasions. The Fish and Wildlife Service cited habitat fragmentation as one of the reasons for its population decline, as much of the area is used for cropland, grazing, and oil and gas development. However, we have seen perhaps the most significant population changes tied to the prolonged periods of drought across the chicken's range. At its lowest, the lesser prairie-chicken population fell to approximately 15,400 birds during the worst phase of the 2013 drought.…”