The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Friday that it would list the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard as an endangered species after ruling in 2012 that it would not do so because extensive volunteer conservation measures had proved effective.
The Permian Basin Petroleum Association immediately issued a protest.
“The Endangered Species Act is an important tool in preventing the extinction of imperiled species like the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard,” said Amy Lueders, southwest regional director of the FWS in Albuquerque, N.M. “The Service will continue working collaboratively with tribes, industry, stakeholders and private landowners while ensuring protections for the lizard and its habitat.”
Lueders said the lizard is a rare species found only in about 4 percent of the lands that make up the 86,000-square mile Permian Basin.
“Primary threats to the lizard include the loss of habitat associated with oil and gas development, sand mining and changing climate,” Lueders said. “Conservation efforts for imperiled species can be greatly expanded through collaborative approaches that foster cooperation and the exchange of ideas among stakeholders.
“In New Mexico and Texas around 100 ranchers and 100 oil and gas partners have enrolled in voluntary agreements to implement conservation practices that address specific threats so that they can continue to manage their land outlined in their agreements with no additional requirements or restrictions.”
The FWS official said the voluntary enrollments cover nearly 85 percent of the lizard’s range in New Mexico.
“In Texas enrollment focuses on avoiding and mitigating any unavoidable impacts on lizard habitat,” she said. “Although new enrollment in these voluntary agreements ends when the listing rule is final and effective, the Service has multiple tools and programs to work with industry, private landowners and public agencies to streamline and ensure compliance with the Endangered Species Act.
“In addition through advanced horizontal drilling techniques oil and gas wells are still able to reach most oil and gas reserves without disrupting lizard habitat.”
PBPA President Ben Shepperd said his organization “is deeply disappointed that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has chosen to list the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard as endangered at this time.
“This arbitrary decision is not supported by the available science and it flies in the face of state-sponsored conservation efforts including the enrollment of hundreds of thousands of acres and the commitment of millions of dollars in both Texas and New Mexico,” Shepperd said. “The Service mischaracterizes existing data in an attempt to support its unfounded hypothesis that the DSL is in danger of extinction.
“Moreover this conclusion is inconsistent with the Service’s 2012 decision not to list the DSL based on the creation of conservation agreements that the Service deemed would be effective. In 2020 the Service approved additional conservation efforts for newly active industry on the landscape and enrollment in these efforts has been tremendous yet still ignored.”
He said the announcement “is another action by the Service showing that regardless of the resiliency and effectiveness of state-led conservation efforts, such efforts will be ignored in favor of paperwork protections, which are a favorite tool of environmental activists.”
Shepperd said the Service should have recognized the efforts of the communities in West Texas and Southeast New Mexico, the industry in the region and other partners who have had success in conserving the lizard’s habitat.
“Voluntary conservation measures already in place continue to demonstrate value,” Shepperd said. “This listing will bring no additional benefit for the species and its habitat yet it could be detrimental to those living and working in the region.
“The Service’s refusal to designate habitat shows a lack of comprehensive understanding of the true conditions and needs of the species. This is yet another attempt to single out an industry while utilizing a species and another federal effort to overreach to the detriment of communities across West Texas and Southeast New Mexico.
“We are proud of the work that PBPA members have done and we will continue to do to be good stewards of our natural resources through volunteer conservation efforts.”
