WildEarth Guardians

Thursday, June 9, 2011
Republicans Launch Attacks on Endangered Species Act

Amendments Target Dunes Sagebrush Lizard, Lesser Prairie-chicken
Contact: Mark Salvo (503) 757-4221

Two Republican Senators, John Cornyn (R-TX) and James Inhofe (R-OK), have introduced separate legislation in the past two days that would amend the Endangered Species Act to specifically prohibit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from listing two imperiled southwestern species. Cornyn has targeted the dunes sagebrush lizard, while Inhofe seeks to bar listing for the lesser prairie-chicken.

“These systematic attacks on the Endangered Species Act undermine conservation, circumvent science, and ultimately render species recovery more difficult and expensive,” said Mark Salvo of WildEarth Guardians. “If enacted, these amendments would set a horrible precedent for Congressional meddling in species conservation—and could doom the lizard and chicken to extinction.”

The dunes sagebrush lizard, also known as the “sand dune lizard,” lives in unique, rare shinnery oak sand dune habitat in the Permian Basin in southeast New Mexico and West Texas. The species is adversely affected by oil and gas development, livestock grazing, off-road vehicles, and herbicide use. The lizard’s range has declined by 40 percent and scientists warned 14 years ago that remaining populations were in danger of extinction.

The lesser prairie-chicken is a medium-sized grouse that inhabits shinnery oak and sand sagebrush grasslands in parts of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The species is threatened by myriad land uses and has been reduced to just eight percent of its historic range. The total population has been declined from an estimated 3 million birds historically to between 10,000 to more than 50,000 individuals, although some experts have warned that fewer than 10,000 birds may remain.

Both the dunes sagebrush lizard and the lesser prairie-chicken have been candidates for listing under the Endangered Species Act for more than a decade and the Fish and Wildlife Service has identified them among the most imperiled species on the candidate list. The agency proposed to list the lizard as “endangered” in December 2010 and is currently preparing a listing proposal for the lesser prairie-chicken. The senators’ amendments, offered as riders to the Economic Development and Revitalization Act of 2011 (S. 782), would derail these scientific processes and weaken one of the nation’s strongest environmental laws.

“The Endangered Species Act works precisely because politics are excluded from species listing decisions,” said Salvo.

Listing species under the Endangered Species Act has proven very effective in preventing species extinction. Over 99 percent of plants and animals listed under the act persist today. Scientists estimate that 227 species would have gone extinct if not for ESA listing. Listed species also benefit from the development of federally funded recovery plans and critical habitat, if designated.