Data / Federal rules / 2026-03883

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removal of Northern and Southern Distinct Population Segments of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken From the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in Compliance With Court Order

The Fish and Wildlife Service published this final rule in the Federal Register on February 26, 2026. It took effect on February 26, 2026.

SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. It reads every rule and proposed rule in the Federal Register each morning, and this page is that reading. Name your industry once and new rules, comment deadlines and effective dates arrive in your sheet, CRM, Slack or agent as they are published.

Get new rules for your industry

What the agency says

In response to a court order, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) are removing the northern and the southern distinct population segments (DPSs) of the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. Additionally, we are rescinding the rule issued under section 4(d) of the Act for the northern DPS. As a result of the court's orders, the regulatory protections under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) no longer apply to either DPS.

Key facts

Document number: 2026-03883
Type: Final rule
Action: Final rule
Agency: Interior Department; Fish and Wildlife Service
Published: February 26, 2026
Takes effect: February 26, 2026
Dates: This rule is effective February 26, 2026. However, the court's orders had legal effect upon filing on March 29, 2025, and August 12, 2025.
Docket: FWS-R2-ES-2021-0015; FXES1111090FEDR-267-FF09E21000
Regulation ID (RIN): 1018-BB27
Code of Federal Regulations: 50 CFR 17
Topics: Endangered and threatened species; Exports; Imports; Plants; Reporting and recordkeeping requirements; Transportation; Wildlife
Pages: 2

The document on federalregister.gov PDF

Other documents from the Fish and Wildlife Service

Document	Type	Published
Marine Mammals; Incidental Take of Polar Bears and Pacific Walruses in the Beaufort Sea and North Slope of Alaska 2026-21371	Final rule	Oct 19
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Four Species Not Warranted for Listing as Endangered or Threatened Species 2026-20315	Proposed rule	Oct 5
General Provisions; Revised List of Birds Protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act 2026-20123	Proposed rule	Oct 1
National Wildlife Refuge System; 2026-2027 Station-Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations; Correction 2026-19723	Final rule	Sep 25
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removal of Gila Chub From the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 2026-18470	Proposed rule	Sep 10
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Nine Species Not Warranted for Listing as Endangered or Threatened Species 2026-18123	Final rule	Sep 4
National Wildlife Refuge System; 2026-2027 Station-Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations 2026-17895	Final rule	Sep 1
Process for Authorizing Seasonal Migratory Game Bird Hunting 2026-17733 · significant	Final rule	Aug 31

Everything from the Fish and Wildlife Service · Rules on endangered and threatened species · Rules on exports · Rules on imports · Published in February 2026

Read from the Federal Register API, last updated 2026-10-23. The document on federalregister.gov is the official record; dates and dockets can change through later corrections. Free to reuse with credit to SpecStream under CC BY 4.0.