The Texas Public Policy Foundation filed a lawsuit today with the Texas General Land Office that, if successful, would remove the golden-cheeked warbler—a small, black songbird with a yellow head that nests exclusively in Central Texas—from the federal endangered species list. Erin Wilcox, an attorney for the foundation’s Center for the American Future division, said updated scientific data shows the warbler is no longer in danger of extinction and that the government should direct its conservation resources to other species that still need to be protected. The foundation made its intentions to file the lawsuit known to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in March. The lawsuit is a response to a petition the foundation filed in 2016 to delist the bird, a request that USFWS denied, according to Ted Hadzi-Antich, senior attorney for the Center for the American Future.

"Leaving a species on the endangered list after its recovery is not only ineffective, it's irresponsible." —Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush

"Leaving a species on the endangered list after its recovery is not only ineffective, it's irresponsible," Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush said in a news release. "The restoration of the golden-cheeked warbler population is a success story worth celebrating by removing it from the endangered list and restoring the rights of Texas landowners to effectively manage our own properties. Texas ranchers, homeowners and other landowners are in a much better position to protect these environments than federal bureaucrats in [Washington, D.C.]." The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a nonprofit that aims to promote and defend liberty, personal responsibility and free enterprise in the state and nation through education and research, according to its website, www.texaspolicy.com.