Submitted

Balius Compliance Services Inc. hosted a Lesser Prairie Chicken seminar in Hays on May 7, which was well attended by members of the oil and gas, power transmission, and agriculture industries. The seminar focused on the listing of the LPC as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, and how oil and gas developers and service companies can avoid costly penalties and fees under the act.

The free seminar drew a packed house. Joe Schremmer, vice president of Balius Energy Inc., the parent company of BCS, moderated the event and introduced speakers Sean Kyle and Ryan Davis. Kyle is the industry liaison for the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and Davis is a Wichita-based biologist who conducts LPC lek and habitat surveys for oil and gas companies. The speakers and Schremmer took numerous questions from the audience about US Fish & Wildlife Agency rules and regulations, penalties, and how to comply.

“With the success of the seminar, we plan to offer a similar seminar again at a different location,” said BCS Manager Janel Burns. “We are looking for areas of the state that are affected by the LPC listing but have not had significant education on the implications of the listing.”

According to Burns, BCS’s goal is to introduce the public to ways of avoiding violating the LPC rules and regulations. For more information on LPC compliance, contact Janel at (316) 842-9894.

(Photo) Ryan Davis, BCS biologist consultant, speaks to a capacity crowd in Hays on May 7, 2015.