Endangered and Threatened Species: Lesser Prairie-Chicken; Threatened Status with Section 4(d) Rule for the Northern Distinct Population Segment and Endangered Status for the Southern Distinct Population Segment; Proposed Rule

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to list two Distinct Population Segments (DPSs) of the lesser prairie- chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus), a grassland bird known from southeastern Colorado, western Kansas, eastern New Mexico, western Oklahoma, and the Texas Panhandle under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This determination also serves as our 12-month finding on a petition to list the lesser prairie-chicken. After a review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that listing the Southern DPS as endangered is warranted, and that listing the Northern DPS as threatened is warranted. Accordingly, we propose to list the Southern DPS as an endangered species under the Act and the Northern DPS as a threatened species with a rule issued under section 4(d) of the Act ("4(d) rule"). If we finalize this rule as proposed, it will add these two DPSs to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and extend the Act's protections to them. We also are notifying the public that we have scheduled informational meetings followed by public hearings on the proposed rule.