Lizard loses a vote

The region's most controversial reptile lost a vote Monday at Capitol, but the decision by New Mexico legislators may not carry any weight. Ten members of the natural resources committee voted to publicly oppose listing the dunes sagebrush lizard as an endangered species. They will send a letter expressing their sentiment to Daniel Ashe, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Four Democrats on the committee dissented. They included two from southern New Mexico, Rep. Joseph Cervantes of Las Cruces and Sen. Mary Jane Garcia of Dona Ana. Their objection will be added to the end of the letter. Ashe is to decide by Dec. 14 whether the dunes sagebrush lizard should be designated as an endangered species. State Rep. Paul Bandy, R-Aztec, led the opposition to federal protection for the reptile. He said such a move could hurt businesses, especially ranchers and oil and gas producers. The dunes sagebrush lizard is found in a total of eight counties in the oil-producing Permian Basin. Four are in southeastern New Mexico and the others are in West Texas. Rep. Andy Nunez, an independent from Hatch, voted against protection for the lizard. One reason was his distrust for a particular conservation group, the Center for Biological Diversity. "Whatever they say, I don't believe," Nunez said. Two Democrats, Sen. George Munoz of Gallup and Rep. Thomas Garcia of Ocate, stood with Republicans and Nunez in opposing the reptile. Bandy's letter, endorsed by a mix of Republicans, Democrats and an independent, asks that the decision on the lizard be delayed for a year...more