Agency takes lizard off endangered list

A lizard that has impacted construction in the Yuma desert has been taken off the endangered list.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined threats to the flat-tailed horned lizard “are not as significant as earlier believed” and does not need protection under the Endangered Species Act.

The agency made the decision to change the lizard's conservation status after completing a court-ordered analysis following a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity.

The agency announced Monday that “available data do not indicate the species is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.”

Threats previously identified in 1993 included loss and degradation of habitat from agricultural and urban development, off-highway vehicles, geothermal energy development, sand and gravel mining, military training activities, construction of roads and utility corridors, and gold mining.

The Center for Biological Diversity disagrees with the agency's decision. Noah Greenwald, the center's endangered species director based in Portland, Ore., said the center has a number of problems with the agency's findings.

“They have admitted the lizard is quite threatened in the Coachella Valley,” he said. He added that the species is now gone from parts of its historical range.

The center has already challenged the agency's ruling on the lizard three times, and each time the agency's decision has been overturned.

“We're at a point of considering our options,” which might include challenging the agency again, Greenwald said.

“It's clear this species is being impacted,” Greenwald said, noting that threats include urban sprawl, off-road vehicles and energy development. “The flat-tailed horned lizard is an interesting species and deserves our protection.”

In 1997 federal and state agencies agreed to develop a strategy to address conservation of the lizard, including managing 457,457 acres of its habitat.

The habitat has been divided into five management areas: the Borrego Badlands, West Mesa, the Yuha Desert, East Mesa and the Yuma Desert.

In Yuma County, the lizard has 221,000 acres of habitat, 124,500 of them in a protected management area near the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range.

Additionally, California's Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area is a designated research area.

Although the Coachella Valley population of the lizard is outside of any management area, conservation of that lizard population is being addressed under the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan, the agency stated.

Following the initial listing proposal in 1997, the Fish and Wildlife Service withdrew the species from the endangered list.

Since that time, the withdrawal has been challenged several times. After the most recent challenge, the agency initiated a comprehensive review of the species' status in 2009.

In reviewing the threats to the species, the agency determined habitat loss and degradation largely occurred in the historical past.

In an announcement released Monday, the agency noted that it expects urban development to continue in portions of the lizard's range but that the Coachella Valley plan and range management strategy provide for conservation of the lizard.

The agency noted that no gold mining occurs in the species' range and that although energy projects may affect some lizard habitat, most of the impacts are anticipated to occur outside the designated management areas.

In addition, project proponents would be implementing measures to avoid or minimize impacts to the species, the agency said.

The lizard's conservation status has impacted construction projects, such as the Area Service Highway that connects the new U.S. port of entry at San Luis with Interstate 8.

In 2002, when the lizard was listed as threatened, the Greater Yuma Port Authority paid twice the amount when buying land to institute protection measures and to pay for further studies.

At that time the Center for Biological Diversity called the highway, also known as the Robert A. Vaughan Expressway, a “big threat in Yuma.” It pointed out the lizard's natural defense mechanism, which is to freeze when in danger, causing it to be hit by vehicles.

In response, the Arizona Department of Transportation put up 18 miles of special fencing to keep lizards off the highway.

The agency's determination can be read at www.regulations.gov. In the box that reads “Enter Keyword or ID,” enter the docket number: FWS-R8-ES-2009-0072. The document will also be posted at www.fws.gov/carlsbad.

Mara Knaub can be reached at mknaub@yumasun.com or 539-6856.