The dunes sagebrush lizard, found only in the shinnery oak sand dune ecosystems within the oil and natural gas-rich Permian Basin may be listed as “endangered” under the powerful Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is accepting comments through Sept. 1 on the proposal. The determination “also serves as the 12-month finding on a petition to list the lizard and satisfies a court ordered deadline to deliver the finding” by the end of June, officials noted.
“Primary threats to the lizard include loss of habitat associated with oil and gas development, sand mining and changing climate,” the USFWS noted. “After a rigorous review of the best available scientific and commercial information, the Service finds that listing the species is warranted. The designation of critical habitat was found to be prudent but not determinable at this time.”
The 2.5-inch-long lizard, whose habitat has been identified in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, initially was identified in 1982 as needing protection. In 2010, the USFWS proposed to list the lizard. Following several lawsuits for and against the listing proposal, it was withdrawn. That prompted another lawsuit in 2018 by conservation groups, which petitioned to protect the lizard.
The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) sued the USFWS in 2022, accusing federal officials of slow walking a decision. As part of a court-approved agreement, the agency had faced a June 29 deadline for making a determination on whether listing was warranted.
USFWS’s Shawn Sartorius, supervisor for the New Mexico Ecological Services Field Office, said the ESA “provides a critical safety net for imperiled species like the dunes sagebrush lizard. Habitat loss and fragmentation, as well as climate change, are pushing this rare species closer to extinction.”
Conservation efforts for imperiled species often can be expanded through collaborative approaches with “non-federal landowner and developers” that foster cooperation, the USFWS noted. Voluntary pacts include Candidate Conservation Agreements, Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances, and Enhancement of Survival Permits.
For example, if a species is listed by USFWS, conservation efforts that “address specific threats” allow landowners and developers to continue to manage their land with no additional requirements or restrictions.
“In New Mexico and Texas, around 100 ranchers and 100 oil and gas partners have enrolled in voluntary Candidate Conservation Agreements and Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances,” the USFWS noted. “In New Mexico, these voluntary enrollments cover nearly 85% of the dune sagebrush lizard’s range within the state.”
The federal ESA, enacted in 1973, establishes stringent protections for fish, wildlife and plants that are listed as “threatened” or “endangered.” Once a species is listed, it often can take several years before recovery plans are approved and implemented. Since the ESA’s enactment, efforts to reduce its oversight have failed.
“In its first 50 years, the ESA has been credited with saving 99% of listed species from extinction, thanks to the collaborative actions of federal agencies, state, local and Tribal governments, conservation organizations and private citizens,” according to the Department of Interior.
The dunes sagebrush lizard notice was published Monday (July 3) in the Federal Register.
“I’m relieved the precious dunes sagebrush lizard is finally on the path to protection,” said CBD senior conservation advocate Michael Robinson. “The agency’s program for listing species is badly broken, too often allowing politics to interfere with saving plants and animals from extinction.”
According to the CBD, the dunes sagebrush lizard has the second smallest range of any lizard in North America. It inhabits “a rare ecosystem where it hunts insects and spiders in wind-blown dunes. It burrows into the sand beneath low-lying shinnery oak shrubs for protection from extreme temperatures.”
Nearly all (95%) of the “original shinnery oak dunes ecosystem” has been destroyed and the remaining habitat is fragmented, which prevents mating efforts, according to the CBD.
