Dunes Sagebrush Lizard Back in Court
by Rebecca Hays Barho, Endangered Species Law & Policy
O
n May 19, 2022, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) failure to make a timely 12-month finding on the group’s petition to list the dunes sagebrush lizard (Sceloporus arenicolus) (DSL), which was submitted to the agency in 2018. The DSL is no stranger to controversy. In 2002, CBD and others petitioned the Service to list the DSL due to alleged threats to the species’ habitat caused by oil and gas production. In 2004, the Service determined that listing the DSL was warranted, but precluded based on higher priorities of the agency. In 2008, WildEarth Guardians petitioned the Service to emergency list the species due to continued supposed threats from oil and gas activities. In 2010, the Service proposed to list the DSL as endangered, but extended the comment period on the proposed listing due to “significant scientific disagreement.”
Subsequently, on June 19, 2012, the Service the species. withdrew its proposed listing, citing efforts In 2018, CBD submitted a fresh petition that were being undertaken to conserve to the Service, seeking to list the species the species, specifically: (1) Candidate Con- due to the ongoing threats from oil and gas servation Agreement and Candidate production, as well as new threats allegedly Conservation Agreecaused by sand ment with Assurances mining in Texas. On for the Lesser PraiJuly 16, 2020, the rie-Chicken and Sand Service published a Dune Lizard devel90-day finding that oped by the Bureau of the petition preLand Management sented substantial (BLM) and Center of scientific and comExcellence in Hazardmercial information ous Materials indicating listing Management in New the DSL may be Mexico; (2) BLM’s warranted. PublicaSpecial Status Species Resource Manage- tion of that 90-day finding obligated the ment Plan Amendment providing Service to publish a 12-month finding on conservation for the DSL; and (3) the Texas whether the petitioned action (listing the Conservation Plan developed by federal, DSL as threatened or endangered under the state, and private stakeholders, including Endangered Species Act) is, in fact, oil and gas, and ranching interests. warranted. Conservation groups sued the Service in CBD’s lawsuit challenges the Service’s 2013, arguing that the Texas Conservation failure to publish the required 12-month Plan was insufficient to protect the DSL and finding. The current Unified Agenda for the that the Service’s failure to list the species Department of the Interior indicates a was arbitrary and capricious. In 2014, the 12-month finding is anticipated in SeptemU.S. District Court for the District of Colum- ber 2022. bia upheld the Service’s decision not to list
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