Indeed. I theorize that the oilfield activities are in fact necessary for the lizard's survival ... in order to improve the environment, and advance the lizard off the endangered species list, we need MORE oilfield activities!
Drill, baby, drill! Do it for the endangered lizards!
Your theory might be absolutely correct.
Search around for “vin suprynowicz tortoise”. He has a good number of articles out there on the same thing.
He wrote quite a bit in the 90s about an “extinct” tortoise that seemed to come back to life in more recent times. The feds stepped in and everyone went off the deep end to save the tortoise because there were only a few left. Everyone, especially the ranchers, had to get off the “fragile habitat”.
A sanctuary was set aside for a small number and all of them were to be brought there. They were overwhelmed almost overnight.
Come to find out that they of course never were extinct, there was only ever a very small number because they live in a desert. Deserts dont support life very well. People were now finding them because the ranchers and the cattle they grazed along the edges were accidentally making improvements that made life easier for the tortoise.