Another day, another lawsuit

WildEarth Guardians are still on their BioBlitz warpath.

It’s their campaign to raise awareness of endangered species and to mark the 36th birthday of the Endangered Species Act with a new lawsuit or complaint every workday for eight weeks.

This time their focus is the prairie ecosystem we call home. Prairie Week will include suits to save two insects, a fish, a lizard and a kangaroo rat. The threats include” urban sprawl, oil and gas extraction, invasions of non-native plants and animals” and other stuff, according to the group.

“The Great Plains needs a home makeover that provides enough space for the original prairie occupants from the animal kingdom,” said Lauren McCain, Prairie Protection Director for WildEarth Guardians.

I know, I practically bet the lesser-prairie chicken would have been on the list. But our highest-profile threatened species didn’t make the cut.

The lawsuits and petitions this week are aimed at protecting habitat for the Great Plains wolf, plains grizzly bear, Audubon bighorn sheep, eastern elk, passenger pigeon, and heath hen.

Now we surely live on the plains here, but I haven’t seen any of these around. The Great Plains covers a lot of area, so I guess they’re somewhere.