10 Years of Horned Lizard Conservation: 1990-2000
The Organization
The HLCS was established in November 1990 by Bart Cox. Mr. Cox was enamored with horned lizards and was disturbed with the decline of horned lizards throughout their ranges. He called for a meeting of people interested in horned lizards that was held on November 6, 1990. Over 200 people gathered at the Austin Nature Center for what became the first meeting of the Horned Lizard Conservation Society. Bart Cox became the first president of the HLCS.Since 1990, three other people have taken the reins of the presidency: Lee Stone in 1992, Lester Milroy in 1994, and Scott Henke in 1998. In 2001, Bill Brooks stepped in to take charge of the Society.
One of the society's first accomplishments was to produce a newsletter. The first issue of Phrynosomatics was distributed in December 1990 and has since become a regular component of the HLCS. Many have helped to produce the newsletter since its initiation and it keeps getting better with every issue.
In 1992, the HLCS expanded outside of Texas. The National and Chapter structure originally required in the Bylaws was established with two state chapters, Texas and Southern California. Also in 1992, the HLCS attained its nonprofit 501(c)3 status. Once the HLCS began to expand, there was no looking back.
We now have state chapters in Texas, California, and Oklahoma. Chapters are emerging in New Mexico, Nevada and Utah. The HLCS has members in the United States, Canada, and Germany. In the United States, members are from 25 states and Washington D.C. Hopefully in the future, the HLCS will boast state chapters in all states and provinces where horned lizards are found and have members in all 50 states!
Education & Outreach
The driving goal of the HLCS has been education. Conservation can not take place without first a strong educational foundation.Wherever wildlife or conservation trade shows are held, rest assured that the HLCS will strive to have a booth there to educate the public. Life Member, Larry Wisdom has produced life-like displays of horned lizards and harvester ants, which are displayed at many of the trade shows attended by the HLCS.
Through the never-ending efforts by Carolyn Todd, the Horned Lizard Curriculum Guide for grades kindergarten through third grade was developed. Also, HLCS members visit schools regularly and give presentations concerning the ecology of horned lizards. Educational materials are mailed to institutions and individuals nationwide.
Scientific Research
The Society has held four national symposia, the most recent one during October 2000 in Portal, Arizona. Other meetings have been in Austin, Texas (1993), San Diego, California (1995), San Angelo, Texas (1997). The next meeting should be in 2002 - watch out for it!Although our society has been fairly small in the past, it has provided $4,400 in grants to fund six research projects to advance the knowledge of horned lizard ecology. Recipients were:
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Steve Sheffield, $700 to conduct a statewide survey of horned lizards in Oklahoma | |
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Wendy Hodges, $700 to conduct a statewide survey in Texas | |
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Melisa Montemayor, $500 to determine the longevity of Texas horned lizards in southern Texas | |
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Kelly Zamudio, $500 award to study the genetic diversity of Phrynosoma douglasi | |
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Scott Davis, $1,000 to study the genetic variability of P. cornutum (became a Masters thesis for Trina Guera) | |
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Jim Richerson, $1,000 to investigate the impacts of gastrointestinal parasites on horned lizards. |
Protecting Horned Lizards
The HLCS is a leading plaintiff in a lawsuit against the Department of the Interior/United States Fish and Wildlife Service in an effort to protect the flat-tailed horned lizard as a federally threatened species. We won the most recent court case in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The victory overturned a previous decision by a District Court allowing the USFWS to withdraw the flat-tailed Horned Lizard from potential listing. The Appeals Court ordered USFWS to reopen the case and make a new decision based on criteria they outlined in the written opinion. The court sided with us stating that the USFWS had made an "arbitrarty and capricious" decision and "relied on an improper standard and failed to consider important factors relevant to the listing process." The HLCS was party with 8 other plaintiffs including the Defenders of Wildlife, Tucson Herpetological Society, Sierra Club, Desert Protective Council, Biodiversity Legal Foundation and 3 private citizens.The HLCS is also actively seeking to end the legal commercial trade of Horned Lizards. Commercial collection of horned lizards continues to threaten local populations and may lead to local population extinction. Several states allow some Horned Lizards to be collected and sold via the pet trade. The difficult nature of keeping the lizards in captivity leads to death of most individuals caught and sold as pets. Far too often, the care information for these lizards is wrong and the lizards die of starvation at the hands of kids who thought they were cool. These lizards, though arguably cool, are simply lousy pets and should be treasured and enjoyed in their natural habitat.
Due to our educational efforts, the states of Texas and Oklahoma often refer questions they receive about horned lizards to the HLCS. The HLCS is quickly becoming known as the organization of authority concerning horned lizards. Because of this notoriety, I would have to say that yes, the HLCS has been successful during its first ten years. We only hope to see great strides in protecting habitat for the future 10 years and hope you will join us in this endeavor.
(provided by Scott Henke and Bill Brooks)