New Mexico signs conservation agreement

New Mexico on Friday signed a conservation agreement with the federal government to protect more than 387 square miles of habitat for two species that have been the focus of a bitter battle among environmentalists, politicians and oil and gas developers in New Mexico and West Texas. New Mexico Land Commissioner Ray Powell said the agreement represents a "monumental step" toward finding a way to protect the lesser prairie-chicken and dunes sagebrush lizard while allowing for oil and gas development to continue in the Permian Basin. "We've had enough of the circular firing squads," Powell said during a signing ceremony attended by biologists, project managers and others from state and federal agencies who have worked for nearly a decade to line up conservation agreements with oil companies, ranchers and private land owners. With New Mexico signing on, nearly 248,000 acres are being added to the conservation effort. Officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said that is the largest area to be set aside by a single state as part of a conservation agreement. In all, 29 oil and gas companies and 39 ranchers have enrolled in the effort in New Mexico to cover more than 2.5 million acres...more