Is the Obama administration PROTECTING LIZARDS at expense of JOBS? – The Daily Caller

This undated file photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows a sand dune lizard in Chaves County, N.M. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/AP Photo)

Is the Obama administration protecting lizards at expense of jobs?

Published: 12:18 AM 09/19/2011

By Caroline May

A little lizard is creating big concerns for Texas.

The Dunes Sagebrush Lizard, also known as the Sand Dune Lizard, inhabits the Permian Basin, one of America’s top energy producing regions. It contains more than 20 of the nation’s top 100 oil fields and, in the counties identified with lizard habitat, is keeping an estimated 27,000 jobs intact.

Despite the White House’s laser focus on jobs, the administration has its sights on putting these lizards on the Endangered Species List — a move which would severely limit oil production and kill area jobs in order to make the Permian Basin a protected habitat for the lizard.

“The wolf at the door is the lizard; we’re concerned listing it would shut down drilling activity for a minimum of two years and as many as five years while the service determines what habitat is needed for the lizard. That means no drilling, no seismic surveys, no roads built, no electric lines,” said Ben Shepperd, president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association (PBPA).

via Texas Lizards | Obama Administration | Endangered Species | The Daily Caller.