Speakers question science behind lizard concerns

A respectful crowd of Permian Basin residents gathered at Midland Center on Wednesday to speak at a public hearing about the listing of the dunes sagebrush lizard as an endangered species. The listing possibly could shut down oil and gas, grazing and farming operations in Andrews, Crane, Gaines, Ward and Winkler counties in West Texas and Chaves, Eddy, Lea and Roosevelt counties in New Mexico. The hearing was conducted by officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, overseen by Jeff Humphrey, public outreach specialist with the service out of Arizona. Congressman Mike Conaway told officials "the folks in Texas feel sandbagged. In 2008 you told our neighbors in New Mexico you would work with them through candidate conservation agreements and candidate conservation agreements with assurances. I feel that in 2008 Texas could have been made part of the process. We want the decision to be based on sound science. You like to hide behind the phrase 'best available data.' I appeal to the scientists there, if it's a close call, if it's a tie, lean towards the human species, not the lizard. We will be good partners on protecting the lizard. We want to be partners, not subjects."...more