A federal judge in Texas signed off on a settlement agreement Tuesday that will remove endangered species protections for a lizard whose habitat can conflict with oil and gas exploration in the Permian Basin.
The dunes sagebrush lizard, designated as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 2024, will no longer receive protections as the Fish and Wildlife Service reevaluates the animal’s status over the next two years.
Texas Republican officials and industry groups had decried the Biden administration’s move to list the lizard, saying it was an attack on the state’s robust oil and gas economy. The Fish and Wildlife Service under President Donald Trump said the decision was a “serious and fundamental error.”
Facing a lawsuit filed by Texas over the lizard’s protections, FWS reversed its position and moved to settle the case. U.S. District Judge David Counts of the Western District of Texas approved the settlement Tuesday.
