In Fort Hood, Texas, the sounds of songbirds fluttering in the trees is a harbinger of annoying red tape and government meddling.

The golden-cheeked warbler has been on the Endangers Species list since 1993, and its main habitat in Texas happens to dominate 218,000 acres of Fort Hood property. The military installation has been forced to work around the golden-cheeked warbler for 25 years, even when it means botching a military exercise or moving a scheduled event at the last second.

To minimize the impact on the bird, Fort Hood servicemen have been restricted from firing artillery or using chemical and smoke grenades within 328 feet of a warbler habitat during nesting season. There is also a two-hour training limit while warblers are nesting on Fort Hood property.

Fort Hood must pay the Fish and Wildlife Service out of pocket in order to assess the warbler population continue protecting the bird.

George P. Bush, son of presidential candidate Jeb Bush, andLt. Gen. Sean B. MacFarland, the commanding officer at Fort Hood, are petitioning to remove the bird from the Endangered Species list, citing that the bird is no longer on the brink of extinction and that its protection gets in the way of military and local business.

The petition also claims that environmentalists abuse the Endangered Species Act in order to protect animal species that aren’t endangered at all.

“If the Endangered Species Act was used as intended, we would utilize it to preserve species and we would celebrate when one gets taken off the endangered list,” Bush stated. “Some in the media seem to believe that having a species removed from the list is terrible, but it’s really a victory for ranchers, farmers and conservationists. It means that the animal is thriving.”