Leapin’ lizard: Local critter booted from threatened species list
BY LOUIE VILLALOBOS
Jan 4, 2003

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Friday that the flat-tailed horned lizard, an animal with an extensive habitat in the Yuma area, will be taken off the list of threatened species.

It's a decision that relieved local authorities and infuriated at least one conservation group.

Jane Hendron, spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the decision came after a year of data collection by the service that included public forums and extensive research on the animal and its habitat.

"We determined that the current data does not indicate the threats to the species and its habitat are likely to endanger it in the foreseeable future," Hendron said.

The flat-tailed horned lizard can be identified by its flattened body and short tail, and by its ability to camouflage itself in its surroundings.

It can be found in the Coachella, Imperial and Borrego Valleys in California as well as portions of southwestern Arizona, which includes much of Yuma County, and in northeastern Baja California and northwest Sonora, Mexico.

Though there was some confusion on how Friday's decision would affect two ongoing Yuma-area projects that intrude on the lizard's habitat, by the end of the day it was agreed that little will change.

When the Yuma Port Authority purchased more than 300 acres of land from the Bureau of Reclamation for a new commercial port of entry on the border with Mexico, it was forced to pay double because the land being bought was part of the lizard's habitat. The extra money, more than $200,000, was meant to institute protection for the lizard and conduct further studies.

Also, when construction crews build the Area Service Highway that will connect the new port to Interstate 8, they will have to build what is referred to as a lizard fence, which stands about one foot off the ground and runs alongside the road to prevent the lizard from being run over, in addition to tunnels for the animal to use to go under the road.

After hearing of the service's decision, Yuma County Supervisor Lucy Shipp wondered if the port authority could possibly get some of its money back or if it would no longer be required to build the fence and dig the holes.

"Whether we could somehow get a refund, we don't know yet," Shipp said. "It's going to save a lot of money if we don't have to spend on mitigation."

San Luis, Ariz., Mayor Joe Harper, the port authority chairman, said the agreement under which the land was bought and the highway will be built will not be affected by the decision and, therefore, the port authority will not be able to get a refund and will still have to build the fence.

Harper said both projects fall under the Conservation Agreement of 1997, which was created to protect populations of flat-tailed horned lizards. The only way those projects would have been affected is if the lizard would have been permanently listed as threatened, in which case Harper said even stricter guidelines would have applied.

"It would have been worse," he said.

Daniel Patterson, a desert biologist for the Center for Biological Diversity, said it should be worse for anyone wanting to develop on the lizard's habitat. Calling the service's decision another in a long list of favors to industry, Patterson said he expects several conservation groups to challenge the decision in court, adding his may be one of them.

"All it does is require that developments be responsible for mitigation of natural wildlife — there is nothing wrong with that," he said of keeping the the animal listed as threatened.

Patterson said Shipp's comments on saving money is a prime example of why the decision is wrong.

"As Yuma and the Imperial Valley expands, this animal will continue to lose its habitat," he said. "Absent protection by law, they get no protection and they get wiped out."

According to the service's ruling, which was printed in Friday's Federal Register, because 77 percent of the lizard's local habitat is in a special management area, where strict conservation guidelines apply, development in Yuma County is not expected to severely affect the lizard.

The decision ends years of squabbling between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and conservation groups. In 1993, the service proposed the animal be listed as threatened but changed its mind after finding no significant threat to the animal.

That change in opinion was challenged by the Defenders of Wildlife, which was defeated in U.S. District Court. After an appeal by the group, the case was sent back to court and in October 2001, the service was ordered to reinstate the 1993 proposal and make a final ruling in December 2002.

Hendron said the service's final ruling on Friday shouldn't bring an end to preserving the lizard's habitat.

"Our determination doesn't signal that people shouldn't still care about conversation," she said.

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Louie Villalobos can be reached at lvillalobos@yumasun.com or 539-6858.

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