U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting public comments through Sept. 1 after its decision announced last week that the dunes sagebrush lizard should be listed as an endangered species “due to ongoing threats of energy development, mining and climate change in southeastern New Mexico and west Texas.” The Fish and Wildlife Service had faced a June 29 deadline for determining whether listing was warranted.
Biologists told Associated Press they are unable to say how many of these lizards exist because there are so few of them and they are difficult to detect – making precise counts difficult. They said fewer lizards are detected in areas where there are oil and gas operations and where habitat has been disrupted. Oil and gas operators and ranchers in Permian Basin opposed the listing and made voluntary agreements for conservation (covering nearly 85 percent of the lizard’s range in New Mexico).
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said June 30 the listing was warranted after “a rigorous review of the best available scientific and commercial information.”