President Joe Biden vetoed a resolution to nullify his administration’s rule regarding the population segments under the Endangered Species Act.
Biden in his veto message about said S.J. Resolution 9 was wrong and he thought the final rule, issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, provides Endangered Species Act protections to an American bird species whose historical habitat on the Great Plains has diminished about 90% and whose populations have plummeted toward disappearance.
Following a review of the best available scientific and commercial information regarding the past, present and future threats, as well as ongoing conservations efforts, the USFWS listed the Southern Distinct Population Segment of the lesser prairie-chicken as endangered and the North Distinct Population Segment as threatened, he said.
“The rule also affirms and protects locally led and crafted voluntary conservation agreements that landowners and land managers have developed in recent years which provides certainty for industry as well as safeguards for prairie-chicken populations,” Biden said.
The expected veto was nonetheless disappointing to U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann, R-KS, who had led the effort in the U.S. House of Representatives to nullify the resolution.
“President Biden’s unwillingness to listen to Congress is one thing, but refusing to listen to America’s agriculture and energy producers is unacceptable,” Mann said. “Farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers are the original conservationists, and their voluntary conservation efforts have proven to be effective in supporting the lesser prairie-chicken species population. At a time when record-breaking drought is crushing rural communities, crop production, and native grasslands, we need more rain, not more regulations.”
Biden said the S.J. Resolution 9 would overturn a science-based rule making that follows the requirements of the law and undermines the ESA.
“The lesser prairie-chicken served as an indicator for healthy grasslands and prairies, making the species an important measure of the overall health of America’s grasslands,” he said.
S.J Resolution had its roots earlier in the year. On May 3, the U.S. Senate passed the resolution by a vote of 50-48. On July 27, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the resolution by a vote of 221-206.
Mann said he would press his colleagues to continue to pursue overturning the veto.
Dave Bergmeier can be reached at 620-227-1822 or [email protected].
