The Fish and Wildlife Service’s assessment of Indonesia’s remarkable blue tree monitor lizard has roiled exotic wildlife traders while the agency keeps shifting gears.
The service started slowly and missed a legal deadline for deciding whether the vividly colored 3-foot-long lizard warrants listing under Endangered Species Act. Speeding up, the agency last December extended temporary emergency protections.
Now, the agency is slowing down again with an announcement Tuesday that a public comment period on the proposed listing will be extended by 30 days and a new virtual public hearing will be held July 31. The shift comes amid rising concerns over the potential commercial impact of designating the lizard as threatened or endangered.
“Listing the blue tree monitor under the ESA is unnecessary, counterproductive, and harmful to U.S. businesses,” David Garcia, legal counsel for the United States Association of Reptile Keepers, stated in a lengthy written comment.
