New endangered listing for rare lizard could slow oil and gas drilling in New Mexico and West Texas
Federal wildlife officials on Friday declared a rare lizard in southeastern New Mexico and West Texas an endangered species, citing future energy development, sand mining and climate change as the biggest threats to its survival in one of the world’s most lucrative oil and natural gas basins.
“We have determined that the sagebrush lizard is in danger of extinction throughout its range,” the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said. It concluded that the lizard is already “functionally extinct” in 47% of its range.
Much of the 2.5-inch-long (6.5 centimeters), spiny, tan lizard’s remaining habitat is fragmented, preventing the species from finding mates beyond those already living nearby, according to biologists.
“Even if there were no further expansion of the oil and gas or sand mining industries, the existing footprint of these operations will continue to negatively impact the dune sagebrush lizard in the future,” the agency said in its final decision, published in the Federal Register.
The decision ends two decades of legal and regulatory skirmishes between the U.S. government, conservationists and the oil and gas industry. Environmentalists applauded the move, while industry leaders condemned it as a threat to future fossil fuel production.
The decision provides a “lifeline” for a unique species whose “only mistake is occupying a habitat that the fossil fuel industry has tried to take away from it,” said Bryan Bird, Southwest director for Defenders of Wildlife.
“The dune sagebrush lizard has languished in Pandora’s box of political and administrative back-and-forth for far too long, even as the population was in freefall toward extinction,” Bird said in a statement.
The Permian Basin Petroleum Association and New Mexico Oil & Gas Association expressed disappointment, saying the determination is contrary to available science and ignores long-standing, state-sponsored conservation efforts across hundreds of thousands of acres and the commitment of millions of dollars in both states.
“This listing will provide no additional benefit to the species and its habitat, but could harm those who live and work in the region,” PBPA President Ben Shepperd and NMOGA President and CEO Missi Currier said in a joint statement, adding adding that they view it as a federal overreach that could harm communities.
Scientists say the lizards are found only in the Permian Basin, the second smallest range of all North American lizards. The reptiles live in sand dunes and among glossy oaks, where they feed on insects and spiders and burrow into the sand for protection from extreme temperatures.
Environmentalists first petitioned for the species’ protection in 2002, and in 2010 federal officials found it was justified. That sparked outrage from some members of Congress and communities that rely on oil and gas development for jobs and tax revenue.
Several Republican lawmakers sent a letter to officials in the Obama administration asking them to delay a final decision, and in 2012 federal officials decided not to list the dune sagebrush lizard.
Then-U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said at the time that the decision was based on the “best available science” and voluntary conservation agreements in place in New Mexico and Texas.
The Fish and Wildlife Service said in Friday’s decision that such agreements “have provided and continue to provide many conservation benefits for the lizard,” but “based on the information we reviewed in our review, we conclude that it risk of extinction for the dunes sagebrush lizard is high despite these efforts.”
The network of roads will, among other things, continue to restrict movement and facilitate direct mortality of lizards in the dunes from traffic, it added, while industrial development will continue to have “fringe effects on the surrounding habitat and the structure of the sand dune formations.” weaken. ”