Protection for Lizard Threatens Tens of Thousands of West Texas Jobs

The Texas cattle industry, already buffeted by drought, heat, and wildfire, is facing a new threat. A tiny little lizard called the 'Dunes Sagebrush Lizard' threatens to upend what's left of the west Texas way of life, and experts say it could also threaten the lucrative oil industry in the Permian Basin as well, 1200 WOAI's Michael Board reports. The three-inch long gecko feeds on the Shinnery Oak shrub, which is found only in the Permian Basin of west Texas and in parts of eastern New Mexico. Conservation groups, which have had a fertile ear in the Obama Administration, are demanding that the critter be placed on the Endangered Species List, which would not only make oil drilling unacceptable in their habitat, would could also force cattlemen to pull up stakes to make sure their cows don't damage the lizard's habitat. "I feel like in the future, people who lose their jobs or lose their ranches are not going to remember the name of the lizard," says Joe Parker, who heads the Texas Cattle Raisers Association. "They will remember the year and the month and the day they lost their job." A determination of whether the lizard will go onto the endangered species list is expected by the end of the year. Several environmentalist groups have been fighting for protection for the lizard for a decade, but President George W. Bush, who grew up in Midland, in the heart of the area to be affected, delayed a decision. The Obama Administration appears ready to place the species on the fast track...more