ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) today filed comments with the Fish and Wildlife Service arguing against listing the Lesser Prairie Chicken under the Endangered Species Act. In its filing, NRECA pointed to scientific data showing that the Lesser Prairie Chicken population is stable, thanks in part to the extensive voluntary conservation measures already underway by public and private stakeholders.
“The range-wide conservation plan approved by the Fish and Wildlife Service in 2014 along with other measures, are working,” said NRECA CEO Jim Matheson. “America’s electric cooperatives have continued to engage with state wildlife agencies and additional co-ops are enrolling in conservation plans to help the species. As the huge swath of available habitat – more than ten million acres in five states – continues to grow, the best available data show the Lesser Prairie Chicken population has stabilized.”
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national service organization that represents the nation’s more than 900 private, not-for-profit, consumer-owned electric cooperatives, which provide service to 42 million people in 47 states.
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