(AP) — A law that gives Nebraska counties the power to manage black-tailed prairie dog populations has drawn the ire of Sen. Ernie Chambers.

Chambers proposed a repeal bill to a legislative committee on Tuesday, saying he would have fought to block the law had he been in the Legislature when it passed in 2012. Chambers, the state’s longest-serving senator, was forced out briefly because of term limits but returned to office last year.

The law allows counties to launch prairie-dog management programs, with the power to go onto a landowner’s property to eradicate the animals if they stray onto someone else’s land. Ranchers view them as pests that can threaten cattle.

Chambers says prairie dogs are native to the area, while cattle are the invasive species.