Posted on 10/04/2019 10:58:35 AM PDT by CedarDave
Two environmental groups are suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in an effort to protect the dunes sagebrush lizard, also known as the sand dune lizard, under the Endangered Species Act.
The Center for Biological Diversity and the Defenders of Wildlife filed a lawsuit in federal district court on Tuesday.
The small lizard only lives in southeast New Mexico and west Texas. It thrives in sand dunes and shrubs called shinnery oaks.
In May 2018, the groups asked Fish and Wildlife to list the species as threatened or endangered. The lawsuit argues the agency should have responded within 90 days with a decision as to whether the lizard and its habitat warrants protection.
A Defenders of Wildlife study shows more than 1,600 acres of the lizard's habitat had been destroyed in the 18 months prior to the petition to list the lizard.
What habitat remains has many threats, including herbicides, oil and gas development on public and private lands, and increased frac-sand mining operations, Tuesday's lawsuit reads.
In 2010, Fish and Wildlife found the lizard needed federal protection because industry was threatening its habitat. But after then-Texas Comptroller Susan Combs worked with the oil and gas industry to create a voluntary conservation plan for companies, the agency backed away from listing the species.
The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish considers the lizard endangered. Game and Fish estimates that the lizard's current fragmented habitat in New Mexico is less than 700 square miles.
(Excerpt) Read more at abqjournal.com ...
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The enviro-facists are using the Endangered Species Act in an attempt to shut down oil/natural gas drilling/production. Secondary objective - prevent “global warming” from fossil fuels.
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Their overarching goal is to damage/impede the American economy.
OPEC can do billions of dollars worth of damage to their competition in the US just by kicking a few million to these “environmental groups.”
Delicious
They’ll move. Or, maybe this is their swan song. It happens.
It looks like you can spray the shinnery oak plants with herbicides and the lizards will die off. This seems to me to be the most logical and economical way to solve the problem. Just make the critters extinct.
The spice must flow.
Either the lizards inhabit an area much larger than the tiny 1600 ac (2.5 square miles) area in question or they don’t. If that’s their entire habitat in the world, and the greenie weenies that are suing will stipulate to that and legally agree to no further legal action on other lands, then fine, 2.5 mi^2 is nothing, and the feds can buy the land, do a land swap, whatever and everyone can get on with their lift. OTOH, if the 2.5 sq mi is a tiny fraction of their habitat, then so what? That entire area is alive with drilling and in all this time they’ve only managed to run across this guy on 1600 acres? Doesn’t sound like much of a hazard to me.
Is lizard on state-owned land?
Round ‘em up and ship them south of the border. They’ll end up as a lizard on a stick.
Shoot, shovel and shut up!
However, after giving it some thought, I think I'd rather have the oil and natural gas. ;-)
In Texas mostly private with some state (university) lands; in New Mexico mainly federal BLM with state land and minor private land.
A half dozen cats could eliminate the problem in a couple days.
[[I have never pondered what my life would be like without the sand dune lizard.]]
LOL- Since developing eggs aren’t lizards yet- according to abortion supporters- they can’t be put on the endangered list- only the lizards can- so if enough people eat Sand Dune Lizard egg omelettes, the problem will be solved in a decade or so- to add variety- have a spotted owl egg omelette too- mix it up
Most all of these claims and categorizations are bogus.
If you eat them all, they won’t be endangered anymore.
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