A 2024 Fish and Wildlife Service rule intended to protect the Upper Midwest’s prairie potholes has now drawn a potentially far-reaching legal challenge drafted by conservative lawyers.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday on behalf of a Minnesota-based company called Ellingson Drainage, the Pacific Legal Foundation seeks to overturn the federal agency’s rule that covers activities in five states.
“The 2024 rule and the Service’s interpretation of the prairie pothole easements have prevented Ellingson from installing drain tiles on clients’ properties,” the lawsuit states, adding that “this lost business” is a result of an “unlawul” action that should be entirely set aside.
The potentially affected prairie pothole region includes parts of Iowa, Minnesota, Montana and South Dakota, as well as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s home state of North Dakota. All told, the region spans some 150,000 square miles in the United States and extends into Canada.
