Federal Judge Vacates ESA Listing for Lesser Prairie Chicken
https://blackmon.substack.com/p/breaking-federal-judge-vacates-esa
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Great decision today from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. This listing was one of the most heinous abuses of the Endangered Species Act in its history. The world continues to heal now that real adults are in charge.
From the Office of Texas Cong. August Pfluger, who represents much of the Permian Basin:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 8/14/2025
CONTACT: Bethany Holden
Rep. Pfluger Applauds District Court Ruling to Vacate Lesser Prairie-Chicken from Endangered Species Listing
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) released the following statement in response to a ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas vacating the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) 2022 listing of the Lesser Prairie Chicken (LPC) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA):
“The Biden Administration’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service weaponized the Endangered Species Act to target American energy production in the Permian Basin, using species like the Lesser Prairie Chicken as one of their tools. These listings were completely misguided, ignoring the vigilant conservation efforts already underway in West Texas. This week, a district court confirmed what we’ve been saying all along and rightfully struck down the listing, ruling that a ‘foundational error’ was made. I applaud the court’s decision as a major step forward in ending the years-long attack on farmers, ranchers, and energy producers across Texas. We can—and must—protect important species without sacrificing the livelihoods of our local and rural communities that power our nation.”
Background:
In recent years, through state and private conservation efforts in New Mexico alone, 1,905,120 acres have been enrolled in a Candidate Conservation Agreement (CCA) and Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) by the ranching community and 2,230,066 acres have been enrolled in the CCA and CCAA by the oil and gas industry to protect the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard and Lesser Prairie Chicken.
These enrollments have resulted in a net acreage conservation gain for the species’ habitat, and the associated financial contributions have helped fund dozens of reclamation and conservation programs to support the species while still allowing for the development of natural resources and human existence in the region.
Earlier this year, and as first reported in Fox News, Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) and Congressman Tracey Mann (KS-01) sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum urging him to reverse the listing of the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard and the Lesser Prairie Chicken from the threatened and endangered species list. Doing so would unleash American energy, highlight the success of local conservation efforts, and restore regulatory certainty for rural communities.
Under the Biden Administration, the Lesser Prairie Chicken was listed as an endangered species, ignoring the conservation efforts already being made by Texas and Kansas farmers, ranchers, and agricultural and energy producers. The efforts resulted in net acreage conservation gains for the Dunes Sagebrush Lizards’ habitat and increased the Lesser Prairie Chicken population. In the letter to Secretary Burgum, the Members stress that the Trump Administration has the opportunity to correct these misguided listings and ensure America can maintain its energy dominance.
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Rep. Pfluger | 2202 Rayburn HOB | Washington, DC 20002 US
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The ESA another law that should be voided or reworked.
Feds seeking death penalty for Zizian cult member who murdered Vermont border patrol agent
Excerpt:
The Justice Department said Thursday it will seek the death penalty against a member of the cultlike Zizians group accused of killing a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Vermont in the latest Trump administration push for more federal executions.
Teresa Youngblut, 21, of Washington state, is among a group of radical computer scientists focused on veganism, gender identity and artificial intelligence who have been linked to six killings in three states. She’s accused of fatally shooting agent David Maland on Jan. 20, the same day President Donald Trump was inaugurated and signed a sweeping executive order lifting the moratorium on federal executions.
Youngblut initially was charged with using a deadly weapon against law enforcement and discharging a firearm during an assault with a deadly weapon. But the Trump administration signaled early on that more serious charges were coming, and a new indictment released Thursday charged her with murder of a federal law enforcement agent and other crimes.
In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi mentioned Maland as an example when saying she expects federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in cases involving the murder of law enforcement officers. And Youngblut’s attorneys recently said they had been given a July 28 deadline to offer preliminary evidence about why she should be spared such a punishment. They asked a judge last month to delay that deadline until January, but the judge declined.
From jets to Florida luxury homes: U.S. seized a fortune from Maduro
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article311690940.html
Excerpt:
The more than $700 million in assets the United States says it has confiscated from Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro includes multiple luxury properties in Florida, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday.
Bondi’s remarks to Spanish language outlet Fox Noticias followed Friday’s announcement that the U.S. had doubled the bounty for the Venezuelan strongman to a record-setting $50 million for any information leading to his capture. At the time, she described Maduro as one of the world’s top drug kingpins and said his trafficking organization poses a direct threat to the United States.
Bondi said the United States has already seized a number of high-value assets linked to Maduro.
“These assets include two multimillion-dollar jets, multiple homes, a mansion in the Dominican Republic, several million-dollar homes in Florida, a horse farm, nine vehicles, luxury cars, and millions of dollars in jewelry and cash,” she said. “Yet his reign of terror continues... and his organized crime operation continues to function.”
Bondi did not provide details about the specific locations of the Florida properties.
In the interview, she described Maduro’s network as an organized crime operation, “no different than the mafia,” claiming that it is deeply embedded within the Venezuelan military and closely tied to some of the most violent criminal groups in the hemisphere.
In announcing the new bounty last week, Bondi said Maduro leads the Cartel of the Suns, a powerful narcotics organization that operates within Venezuela’s armed forces while ruling the country and maintaining partnerships with the nation’s notorious Tren de Aragua gang, Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and other international syndicates.
“He is one of the world’s biggest drug traffickers and a threat to our national security,” Bondi said. “That’s why we’ve doubled his bounty to $50 million.”
A federal indictment in New York traces Maduro’s rise inside the Cartel of the Suns. Prosecutors say that after the 2013 death of Hugo Chávez, Maduro evolved from a facilitator into the cartel’s top leader, merging its operations with the Venezuelan state to shield it from prosecution.
Court documents also claim the cartel’s objective went beyond profit, accusing it of seeking to “flood the United States with cocaine” as a means of causing social harm.Intelligence reports estimate that at least 250 tons of cocaine transited through Venezuela annually as of five years ago, but the volume has possibly doubled since to compensate for the collapse of oil income caused by U.S. sanctions.