The Trump administration wants to reconsider the endangered species designation of a Texas lizard found in the oil-rich Permian Basin, asking a federal judge Wednesday to approve a legal settlement requiring the Fish and Wildlife Service to take another look at the 2024 listing.
The reversal comes as part of the lawsuit filed that year by the state of Texas against the federal government. At the time, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) said the move to list the dunes sagebrush lizard as endangered was part of the Biden administration’s efforts to undermine oil and gas production.
The lizard lives in shrublands and dunes in Texas and New Mexico. FWS in 2024 found the lizard’s habitat had contracted, often due to oil and gas drilling in its shinnery oak ecosystems. The determination followed more than 20 years of debate over the lizards and their status.
Part of that 2024 decision, FWS said in the court filing, was based on an incorrect conclusion that habitat losses were “effectively permanent” and could not be recovered.
