Small lizard threatens Texas, New Mexico oil drilling

Dozens of lawsuits have been filed by environmentalists in recent years seeking to protect hundreds of species. Most get little attention as they work their way through the court system and through the offices of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The case of the dunes sagebrush lizard is unfolding much differently across southeastern New Mexico and West Texas, where refineries, drilling rigs and pump jacks are as common as skyscrapers in the big city.

From Midland, Texas, to Artesia, N.M., hundreds of people have turned out in recent weeks for town hall gatherings, rallies and public meetings to oppose the listing. The latest rally was planned for Thursday night in Roswell.

"We're not going to stand idly by and watch the economies of southeastern New Mexico and West Texas be devastated," U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "I think people are just ready to march in the streets. They're ready to say enough is enough. We can't manage the entire country for a single species at a time."

The fear for Pearce, some of his Texas colleagues and oil and gas industry groups is that listing the lizard would take thousands of acres in the Permian Basin out of production. They say that could lead to lost jobs, fewer royalties and tax revenues, higher prices at the gas pump and less energy security as the nation looks to wean itself from foreign oil supplies.