Amendment would further politicize landmark wildlife conservation law

WASHINGTON, D.C. (06/08/2011) -

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) offered an amendment yesterday to the Economic Development Administration reauthorization bill that would prevent a single species, the imperiled sand dune lizard, from being protected under the Endangered Species Act.

The following is a statement from Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife:

“Exempting a single species from the Endangered Species Act, America’s pre-eminent wildlife conservation law, undermines our nation’s commitment to good stewardship. It also discards fundamental scientific principles that have successfully saved many imperiled plants and animals from extinction. This amendment, if passed, would truly destroy the Endangered Species Act by encouraging Congress to block protections for any species it finds inconvenient to save.

“We cannot allow Sen. Cornyn or any of his anti-environment, pro-oil colleagues to go back on America’s promise to preserve the web of life that sustains us all. Congress does not get to play Noah and decide which animals deserve a spot on the Ark and which ones do not.

“It’s ironic that Sen. Cornyn accuses the Obama administration of playing dirty politics when he’s the one trying to skirt a long-standing scientific process for protecting endangered species, simply to cater to his wealthy political donors from the oil and gas industry. Pandering to Big Oil on something that is not going to have a significant effect on the oil industry is politicking at its worst. Trying to save America’s wildlife from extinction, on the other hand, is one of our nation’s noblest commitments to future generations of Americans.

“Further, any attempt to equate the sand dune lizard with the gray wolf, as Sen. Cornyn’s staff has tried to do, is just ridiculous. Substituting politics for sound science was wrong for the wolf, and it’s doubly wrong for the sand dune lizard, which no one believes is a recovered species. If we don’t protect what little habitat remains, the species will be gone forever.”

Background:

The sand dune lizard has been a candidate for federal protections since 2001, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the species as endangered in December 2010. The sand dune lizard inhabits only 14 percent of its historic range in Texas as a result of the destruction of its shinnery oak habitat by oil and gas development, agriculture and off-road vehicle use.

###
Links:

Learn more about why protections are needed for the sand dune lizard

Read Sen. Cornyn’s press statement

Find out how much money Sen. Cornyn has taken from the oil and gas industry

Contact(s):

John Motsinger, 202-772-0288

For over 75 years, Defenders of Wildlife has remained dedicated to protecting all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With a nationwide network of nearly 2.1 million members and supporters, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife for generations to come. To learn more, please visit https://defenders.org/newsroom or follow us on X @Defenders.

  

News

black-footed ferret at the nat'l black-footed ferret conservation center
Washington, D.C.

Defenders Slams SPEED Act as it Speeds Toward Habitat Destruction

Defenders of Wildlife condemns Rep. Bruce Westerman’s (R-AR) SPEED ACT, H.R. 4776 the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act, ahead of Thursday’s expected floor vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Roaming mountain goat
Washington, D.C.

ESA Amendments Act Poses a Historic Threat to America’s Wildlife

Defenders of Wildlife remains on high alert as it braces for the House Natural Resources Committee’s full markup of Rep. Bruce Westerman’s (R-AR) Endangered Species Amendments Act of 2025. More aptly labeled the Extinction Act, the bill seeks to eviscerate the Endangered Species Act, stripping away decades of crucial protections for America’s wildlife and their habitats.
Visit the newsroom