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Big news from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton – he has announced that his office is suing the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Biden administration officials for declaring a rare lizard endangered earlier this year.
The dunes sagebrush lizard calls the sand dunes in the Mescalero-Monahans ecosystem, 30 miles west of Odessa, its home – the same land that also hosts Texas’s major oil and gas fields.
For decades, biologists have been warning about the threat posed by oil and gas exploration to the lizard’s habitat, while industry representatives have been fighting against its endangered status.
In May, federal regulators finally listed the lizard as endangered due to the threat posed by the industry’s expansion.
Now, Paxton is taking legal action.
According to Paxton, the listing of the lizard violates the Endangered Species Act, as the Fish and Wildlife Service did not rely on the best scientific data and did not consider existing conservation efforts for the lizard’s protection.
The lizard, which is found in only 4% of the 86,000-square-mile Permian Basin, faces the risk of being “functionally extinct” across 47% of its range.
The listing requires oil and gas companies to avoid operating in lizard habitats, but specific areas are yet to be determined by the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Operators and landowners are uncertain about restrictions on their land, potentially facing fines and prison time for violations.
Paxton’s office has raised concerns about the lack of clarity, leaving stakeholders in limbo.
