Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration over its decision to list the dunes sagebrush lizard as an endangered species, arguing that the move will harm the state's oil and gas industry. Paxton claims the listing violates the Endangered Species Act and that the Fish and Wildlife Service failed to consider existing conservation efforts.
was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.The dunes sagebrush lizard burrows in the sand dunes in the Mescalero-Monahans ecosystem 30 miles west of Odessa — the same West Texas land that supports the state’s biggest oil and gas fields.
For four decades, biologists warned federal regulators about the existential threat that oil and gas exploration and development poses for the reptile’s habitat, while industry representativesthe designation, saying it would scare off companies interested in drilling in the nation’s most lucrative oil and natural gas basin.
Paxton’s statement said the listing of the lizard was a violation of the Endangered Species Act, adding that the Fish and Wildlife Service “failed to rely on the best scientific and commercial data” when declaring the lizard endangered and did not take into account conservation efforts already in place to protect the lizard.
The 2.5-inch-long lizard only lives in about 4% of the 86,000-square-mile Permian Basin, which spans Texas and New Mexico, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. In Texas, the lizard has been found in Andrews, Crane, Gaines, Ward and Winkler counties.The listing requires oil and gas companies to avoid operating in areas the lizard inhabits, but the Fish and Wildlife Service has yet to determine where those areas are because it is still gathering information.
Endangered Species Act Dunes Sagebrush Lizard Oil And Gas Industry Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Biden Administration
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