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HR 3920 107th Congress House

Rancher Preservation Act

Official title: To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to establish special requirements for determining whether the black-tailed prairie dog is an endangered species or threatened species.

Introduced: March 7, 2002 Introduced by: Thune, John Republican · South Dakota See on congress.gov
Animals Administrative procedureBiological researchDepartment of the InteriorEcological research
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Endangered animalsEnvironmental ProtectionEvidence (Law)Government Operations and PoliticsGovernment paperworkGovernment publicityLawPopulation statisticsPublic Lands and Natural ResourcesScience, Technology, CommunicationsScientistsWildlife conservation
This bill died when the 107th Congress ended
It never became law before the 107th Congress (2001–2002) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Mar 7, 2002
Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
Mar 7, 2002
Introduced in House
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 Latest action March 7, 2002

Referred to the House Committee on Resources.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service
Rancher Preservation Act - Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to provide that, in any case in which the Secretary of the Interior is required to use the best scientific and commercial data available with respect to determining whether the black-tailed prairie dog is an endangered or threatened species, the Secretary: (1) in evaluating comparable data, shall give greater weight to scientific or commercial data that are empirical or have been field-tested or peer-reviewed; and (2) shall include data regarding population numbers of the species.

Prohibits the Secretary from determining that the black-tailed prairie dog is an endangered or threatened species unless the determination is supported by data obtained by observation of the species in the field.

Directs the Secretary to: (1) accept and acknowledge receipt of data regarding the status of that species that is collected by an owner of land through observation of the species on the land, and include the data in the rule-making record compiled for any determination that the species is an endangered or threatened species; (2) solicit recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences and develop and maintain a list of qualified reviewers to participate in independent scientific review of actions; and (3) appoint randomly from among the list, before any action becomes final, three qualified individuals who shall review and report to the Secretary on the scientific information and analyses on which the proposed action is based.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 3920: Rancher Preservation Act. 107th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/107-HR-3920/
MLA
"H.R. 3920: Rancher Preservation Act." 107th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/107-HR-3920/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 3920, 107th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/107-HR-3920/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 3920: Rancher Preservation Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/107-HR-3920/)
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