Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 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

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are listing two Distinct Population Segments (DPSs) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended, for the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus), a grassland bird known from southeastern Colorado, western Kansas, eastern New Mexico, western Oklahoma, and the Texas Panhandle. We determine threatened status for the Northern DPS and endangered status for the Southern DPS. This rule adds the DPSs to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. We also finalize a rule under the authority of section 4(d) of the Act that provides measures that are necessary and advisable to provide for the conservation of the Northern DPS.