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OKLAHOMA CITY — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday officially removed the lesser prairie chicken from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, fulfilling a federal court ruling and drawing praise from Oklahoma’s oil and natural gas industry.

The service said it has not made a biological determination on whether the lesser prairie chicken needs federal protection, and that it is re-evaluating the bird’s status and will again determine whether protection under the Endangered Species Act is necessary.

“The storied prairie landscape of the Southwest is of tremendous economic and cultural importance. It is also a critical area for the birds, mammals, reptiles and other animals that rely on this unique habitat,” Service Director Dan Ashe said in a statement. “Responding to this court ruling by removing the bird from the federal list does not mean we are walking away from efforts to conserve the lesser prairie chicken. Far from it.