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New Fish and Wildlife director promises not to kill jobs, stifle growth

By Cindy Steinle · July 11, 2011 4:39 pm

I don't normally like seeing conservation issues played for politics, but I couldn't help but wonder about the implications for our hobby of a deal struck with Republian Senator John Conryn to get new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service director Daniel Ashe out of nomination limbo. From MyWestTexas.com:
"With over-regulation growing like weeds in Washington, I will continue to use every opportunity to engage the Obama administration to keep this unprecedented overreach from killing jobs and stifling growth in Texas," Cornyn said in a statement. "The proposed listing of the sand dune lizard as an endangered species is just the latest federal regulation that threatens not only thousands of jobs in Texas but also our domestic energy resources. I am pleased that the concerns of those most impacted by this premature proposal will be heard, and that Mr. Ashe will ensure that the Fish & Wildlife Service is making this important decision with the relevant data it warrants and on a time frame that ensures proper consideration of the matter."
It remains to be seen if that concern about jobs and growth extends to legislation and regulatory listing that threaten our reptiles.

Comments

Mike Hunt Jul 18, 2011

Has anyone seen the actual papers supporting protection of this lizard or know who wrote them? I haven't even come across a news story listing the latin name so I'm not sure exactly which animal it is that they are trying to protect. I have worked in agriculture and oil for many years and I don't see how more wells would do any long term damage to generic lizard habitat. If anything it enhances things for many animals by creating more transitional and edge habitats, ie. unpaved lease roads, clearings around pumping units, pipelines and regulator stations. Once installed the average oilfield pumping unit takes up about 2 maybe 3 average sized parking spaces and doesn't create much disturbance for native wildlife. If you want to find sceloperus, cnemidophorus, phrynosoma and many other desert/dryland lizards the best place to find them is along a dirt road's edge where the vegetation is cleared. Anyway, I would like to see the data showing how the proposed oil exploration will negatively effect this animal. In the meantime I will continue to enjoy the almost $4 per gallon gasoline and $4.50 per gallon diesel fuel that I'm buying.

Cindy Steinle Jul 18, 2011

I have seen a ton of articles on this animal, so let me do a little digging and get back to you. The point however was NOT the lizard itself but the point was this comment
*"With over-regulation growing like weeds in Washington, I will continue to use every opportunity to engage the Obama administration to keep this unprecedented overreach from killing jobs and stifling growth in Texas," Cornyn said in a statement.*
Which is something we need to keep in mind as we continue forward.This is the same person we are going to deal with for Lacey Act.

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