Canadian company announces it has ‘abandoned’ push to mine gold at New Mexico lizard, dark sky haven

Canadian company announces it has ‘abandoned’ push to mine gold at New Mexico lizard, dark sky haven

From left, Regal horned lizard, reticulated Gila monster and Gray-checkered whiptail lizards can be found in the Antelope Pass area of the New Mexico bootheel, an territory conservation advocates say needs to be protected from gold mine prospecting. (Photos by Joshua Emms and Brian Blais, courtesy of the New Mexico Herpetological Society)New Mexico environmentalist groups this week celebrated the continued preservation of an obscure corner of we…