Articles

Washington, DC (April 23, 2012) Today, Congressman Steve Pearce called on the Obama Administration to not punish New Mexico for the mistakes other states have made regarding the listing of the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard. The listing would be detrimental to New Mexico’s agriculture and energy sectors, which create thousands of jobs in the state, and bring in millions of dollars in revenue to fund schools and other government programs in New Mexico.

“The actions of one state should not drag down another,” said Pearce. “I therefore request that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) not list the lizard in New Mexico, and ask the rest of our Congressional delegation join me. FWS made it abundantly clear that they do not consider the economic impact of this listing. President Obama’s much-touted ‘all-of-the-above’ energy plan is not an all-of-the-above plan. It will eliminate oil and gas. With gas creeping past $4 per gallon, the people of our state deserve better.”

“New Mexicans came to the table, and through good faith efforts, voluntarily protected more than 93% of the lizard’s habitat,” Pearce continued. “Local and state officials, private stakeholders and conservationists put millions of dollars and acres into this plan to avoid a listing. This is undoubtedly one of the most successful CCAAs ever. The willingness of New Mexicans to conserve the habitat and species serves as a fine example of what we can do when the federal government takes input from all sides, and tries to find common ground.”

“Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, said in a February 15 House Natural Resources Committee hearing that if one million acres were voluntarily enrolled to protect the species, a listing could be avoided. New Mexico has enrolled more than 2 million acres. FWS Director Dan Ashe stated just last month, ‘We hope to achieve a more efficient, more effective and more cooperative effort to conserve the most imperiled wildlife.’ New Mexico has achieved this efficient, effective and cooperative effort. We should not be punished for following the rules.”