ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A contentious battle over a rare lizard found only in New Mexico and West Texas’ oil and gas country took a surprising turn Wednesday with federal officials deciding not to bestow endangered species protections on the small reptile. U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the much-anticipated decision over the dunes sagebrush lizard was based on the “best available science” and because of voluntary conservation agreements now in place in the two states.
