Texas Attorney General Sues Biden Administration Over Dunes Sagebrush Lizard

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration on Monday, contesting the declaration of the dunes sagebrush lizard as an endangered species. He argues that this politically motivated decision could adversely affect property owners and energy production in Texas.

Paxton, a Republican, claims that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service relied on flawed data and arbitrary assumptions about the lizard’s future when it adopted this final ruling on May 20.

He expressed concerns that the decision threatens the business operations of private landowners, especially in the Permian Basin—an area crucial for oil production in the United States.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Midland, Texas, aiming to overturn the final decision regarding the lizard’s endangered status.

In his statement, Paxton accused the Democratic administration of “weaponizing environmental law” in an effort to undermine Texas’s oil and gas industries, which he claims are vital for energy supply in America.

A spokesperson from the U.S. Department of the Interior, which encompasses the Fish and Wildlife Service, declined to provide comments about the lawsuit. Both agencies have been named as defendants in the case.

The Railroad Commission of Texas, which oversees the oil and gas industry in the state, previously urged Paxton to dispute the lizard’s endangered status, characterizing the listing as a “political game.”

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Texas produced 43% of the nation’s crude oil and 27% of its marketed natural gas in 2023.

The range of the dunes sagebrush lizard covers approximately 1.25 million acres (1,953 square miles), as stated by the Fish and Wildlife Service.

The case is identified as Texas v. U.S. Department of the Interior et al, in the U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, No. 24-00233.