CONGRESSMAN PEARCE TO ATTEND SAND DUNE LIZARD RALLY IN ARTESIA

Artesia, NM (April 13, 2011) Congressman Steve Pearce will attend a rally in Artesia, New Mexico, to oppose the listing of the Sand Dune Lizard as an endangered species.  The rally will be held on Tuesday, April 19th at 6:00 in the parking lot of the Artesia Chamber of Commerce, located at 107 North 1st Street.

The event will promote a larger rally in Roswell the following week, to be held Thursday, April 28th, at the Great Southwest Aviation Airport Hangar in Roswell.  The Roswell rally will immediately precede the public hearing held by Fish and Wildlife at the ENMU Performing Arts Center at 6:30.

The BLM, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and private entities, including the oil and gas industry, have been working together on the issue of protecting the Sand Dune Lizard.  Despite these efforts, the Fish and Wildlife Service reversed its original position and began working to list the lizard as endangered.  Listing the species has the potential to jeopardize nearly all the oil and gas jobs in Southeast New Mexico.  The same listing may jeopardize future development of the Nuclear Enrichment Facility near Eunice.  

Locals have spoken out over the proposed listing.  Kyla Taylor, a native of Artesia who attends New Mexico State University, contacted Rep. Pearce to voice her concerns.  She and her father plan to start a local herbicide business, but she fears that if the lizard is listed as endangered, her dreams may become impossible.  Furthermore, she explains, her grandmother’s job at the Navajo Refining Company will probably disappear as a result of the listing, along with the jobs of her friends and neighbors.  “My hometown of Artesia and its economy depend heavily on Navajo and the other oil companies in the surrounding area,” said Taylor.  “The federal government is placing more importance on the well-being of a lizard than on the livelihood of its hard working New Mexican citizens.”

Pearce is speaking out on behalf of constituents like Taylor.  “Most of the oil and gas jobs in southeast New Mexico are at risk” said Pearce.  “In the 90’s, they listed the spotted owl and it killed the entire timber industry.  Irresponsible, unbalanced overregulation limits the amount of energy produced, which kills jobs, causes severe budget problems in the state, and increases costs to citizens.  In this time of high unemployment, we can, and must, do better.”

Congressman Pearce is an avid outdoorsman, and believes that conservation is extremely important.  However, he believes that wise environmental regulation can—and must—be implemented without sacrificing a single job.  He recently introduced legislation to restore jobs destroyed by reckless regulation in New Mexico’s timber industry, and is committed to preserving the rights of Americans to earn a living and support their families.

For more information about the meeting, telephone 1-855-4-PEARCE, (1-855-473-2723), or visit www.pearce.house.gov.

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Update: The Mexican Spotted Owl was listed in 1993.  In the 1970s and 1980s, the timber industry in southern New Mexico flourished.  Immediately after the listing, in 1994, timber production in the Lincoln National Forest fell to 7% of what it had been in 1986.