WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten plans to take a form of semi-retirement that will effectively create another vacancy on the federal bench in Kansas.

The 64-year-old chief judge says in an email that he has notified President Barack Obama of his intention to take senior status on May 1, 2017, following 21 years of service. Marten was appointed to the post by President Bill Clinton in 1996.

Marten plans for the time being to keep hearing cases and says the move would help bolster federal judicial resources. Wichita has two federal district judges.

Kansas has one other federal judicial opening created when U.S. District Judge Kathryn Vratil took senior status in Topeka.

Obama’s nomination earlier this year of Lawrence attorney Terry Campbell to fill that seat is still pending.