By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Three environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday alleging that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has not done enough to protect the lesser prairie chickens.

The birds, native to Kansas and neighboring states, are now listed by the USFWS as a threatened species, which is a step below endangered.

Kansas has joined Oklahoma in a federal lawsuit against the designation.

The 111th state district representative, Sue Boldra, R-Hays, agreed with Gov. Sam Brownback that the move goes too far and will result in regulations that will hurt the state’s economy:

In May, the Kansas legislature also passed a bill, signed into law by Brownback, that declared state sovereignty over the birds to block any enforcement of federal regulation.