Brooke Marcus Discusses Impact of Lesser Prairie Chicken Listings on Energy Projects in Permian Basin and Oklahoma

Brooke Marcus was quoted in the Bloomberg Law article “Lesser Prairie-Chicken Listed as Endangered in Permian Basin” (subscription required). The article examines the impact of the Biden administration’s listing of the lesser prairie-chicken as endangered in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico and as threatened in Oklahoma. The listings took effect in January and could have a significant impact on oil drilling and wind power projects across the region.

Commenting for the article, Brooke said the listing could “kill projects—[particularly] renewable energy and electric transmission, two things that are the administration’s priorities.”

She added, “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers a single wind turbine to impact prairie-chicken habitat 1,800 meters—more than 1 mile—in all directions … Mitigation costs could be in the $50 million to $100 million range for a single project. For projects that can’t avoid habitat, [those] costs may render the project not economically feasible.”