Biden axes GOP-led effort to undo endangered species protections for bat, chicken

President Biden on Tuesday vetoed a Republican-led attempt to ax endangered species protections for the long-eared bat and the lesser prairie-chicken.

In two veto messages issued Tuesday, he said that each effort to undo the protections “would undermine America’s proud wildlife conservation traditions” and risk the species’ extinction.

Biden in his veto messages noted that bats “are critical to healthy, functioning ecosystems“ and provide pest control and pollination. He said that the prairie-chicken serves as “an important measure of the overall health of America’s grasslands.”

On the other hand, Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), who introduced the effort to undo the bat’s protections, said in a written statement in April that its listing was “being used to stifle development rather than its intended purpose, which is to protect species from human-caused harm.”