This week the United States District Court for the District of Columbia struck down a lawsuit brought by environmental groups. Defenders of Wildlife and the Center for Biological Diversity had asked the court to require the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to reconsider its June 2012 decision not to list the dunes sagebrush lizard (DSL) as endangered.
In his ruling Judge Rudolph Contreras noted "the Court finds that the FWS’s withdrawal decision rested on 'the best scientific and commercial data available,' as required by the ESA." Contreras added that environmental groups "proffer no scientifically superior data from the administrative record that FWS failed to consider."
"I am very happy with the judge’s decision," Combs said in her statement applauding the ruling. "It supports our basic belief that the TCP provides appropriate conservation for the lizard and reaffirms that the research conducted by Texas A&M University about the DSL helped to provide Fish and Wildlife the best scientific data available to make the decision not to list the species as endangered."
"The TCP continues to be part of our ongoing efforts to help Texas strike an appropriate balance between environmental protection and economic growth. It protects private landowners, oil and gas producers and agriculture producers who are taking the lead in lizard conservation while also maintaining their right to conduct business," Combs said. "Without the support of all the stakeholders involved and those actively conserving the DSL in the Permian Basin, this species would have been listed as endangered, which could have been devastating to our state’s economy. We should all thank these partners."
Combs is presiding officer of the legislatively created Interagency Task Force on Economic Growth and Endangered Species, which assists local communities and governments with maintaining continued economic growth while they respond to ESA actions. The Task Force also has authority to hold federal permits associated with species conservation plans.
