The U.S. Senate rejected an amendment with a vote of 54 to 44 that would have taken the Lesser Prairie-Chicken off the federal government’s list of threatened species, according to Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The Lesser Prairie-Chicken is a species of grouse with feathered feet and striped plumage. Once plentiful in the Great Plains, its habitat has shrunk by more than 80 percent since the 19th century. The bird lives primarily in Kansas but also in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Colorado.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated the bird as threatened last year. Under the Endangered Species Act, threatened status is one step beneath endangered, and means federal officials think the bird likely soon will be in danger of extinction.
The Lesser Prairie-Chicken’s population hit a record low of 17,616 in 2013, down 50 percent from 2012, according to the agency.