A new collaborative conservation agreement was put into place this week to protect the lesser prairie chicken and the sand dune lizard, according to the Land Letter. Both species are located in the Permian Basin-- one of the biggest oil gas producing regions in the West.
The initiative pulls together the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, private landowners, energy companies and ranchers. USFWS has determined that both species qualify as listed species. The conservation agreement is designed to avoid lengthy consultation measures if the signatories take specific measures or pay into a fund to support the conservation of the species.
Habitat for the species spans multiple jurisdictions and the agreement depends upon broad participation by all participants in the region. It is unclear how energy company involvement will be affected with the current fall in energy prices.
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