On August 12, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (Midland Odessa Division) granted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) request to vacate and remand the agency’s final rule (Final Rule) listing the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) (LEPC) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The effect of the court’s order is to set aside the Final Rule, meaning the LEPC will no longer be listed under the ESA. According to the Service, it had identified a “serious, foundational defect” in the Final Rule. The defect identified by the Service was a purported error in how the Service applied its Distinct Population Segment Policy in listing the LEPC as two distinct population segments, which, in turn, created an error in analyzing the extinction risk faced by LEPC.
In its motion and accompanying declaration seeking vacatur and remand, the Service indicated that, upon vacatur, the agency would publish a Federal Register notice informing the public that the Final Rule is no longer in effect and providing a 30-day public comment period to seek new information from the public to inform a new listing determination.
