The US Fish Wildlife Service (FWS) made the final listing, one step below “endangered”, ahead of a court imposed deadline on 31 March to determine the declining species’ designation.

Oil and gas companies have fought against listing the lesser prairie chicken due to fears both conventional and unconventional development would be restricted. The range of the lesser prairie chicken spans five states – Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma – where unconventional drilling has boomed in recent years.

However, FWS said the “threatened” listing would limit regulatory impacts and allows for more flexibility in how the prairie chicken will be protected.

The listing “will allow the five range states to continue to manage conservation efforts for the species and avoid further regulation of activities such as oil and gas development”, the service said.

A “threatened” listing means the species is likely to become in danger of extinction within the foreseeable future. The lesser prairie chicken has been under threat for the past 15 years and its population has been reduced by 84%. The population declined by 50% between 2012 and 2013.

“The lesser prairie-chicken is in dire straits,” said FWS director Dan Ashe. “The states remain in the driver’s seat for managing the species – more than has ever been done before – and participating landowners and developers are not impacted with additional regulatory requirements.”

The Independent Petroleum Association
of America, an industry group, said it is “disappointed” in the FWS designation of the chicken, and that it should have issued a “not warranted” listing
instead.

“Our member companies worked hard to
commit acreage to a range wide plan, another option which would have provided a
solution to provide conservation for the species in a meaningful way, rather
than listing it as threatened,” spokesman Jeff Eshelman said.

“America’s oil and natural gas industry has
become a world leader in energy production while exhibiting great care for the
environment and communities where we work. Listings like this could
threaten the progress we’ve made.”