Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Kintigh says lizard not endangered

The most controversial reptile in Texas and New Mexico does not deserve a place on the federal endangered species list, a group said Monday. State Rep. Dennis Kintigh, R-Roswell, led a volunteer panel that in May began studying the dunes sagebrush lizard. Kintigh, a retired FBI agent with no background in biology, said from the start he did not support endangered status for the lizard. He said his group's research backed up his initial hypothesis. "The committee was surprised by the contradictions the data presented," Kintigh's group said in its report. "There is a clear lack of an unequivocal sense about the actual range of the species and habitats preferred." The report was made public by the Chamber of Commerce of Artesia. A conservation group immediately criticized the report as amateurish and incorrect. "Today's event was a public-relations stunt, not a science review," said Jay Lininger, an ecologist with the Center for Biological Diversity in Albuquerque. He said Kintigh and U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-Hobbs, "stacked the panel" with people who opposed protection for the lizard...more

Here's the real danger to dunes sagebrush lizard - A Texas Roadrunner.   Law Professor William Jacobsen says that's a real dunes sagebrush lizard in the bird's mouth.



3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It should not take a PhD to point out that Roadrunners and lizards were made for eachother.

Anonymous said...

The roadrunner is enough of a predator of the lizard without humans coming in bulldozing, roading, drilling, and dumping produced water all over what remains of its native and natural habitat.

Anonymous said...

How many dead lizards have you seen on dirt roads, on drilling platforms, and "dumping produced water" area? Sometimes I believe that good intentions will be the end of civilization.