Paxton settlement ends endangered lizard protection

AUSTIN — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has secured a settlement vacating and remanding the Biden Administration's listing of the dunes sagebrush lizard as endangered, a legal victory he says ends an unlawful rule that threatened the state’s oil and gas industry. 

In September 2024, Paxton sued the Biden Administration over its decision to list the lizard as endangered, claiming the listing violated the Endangered Species Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. 

According to the Office of the Attorney General, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service relied on data that fell short of the "best available" standard and ignored its own internal listing policies. The agency also made arbitrary assumptions about the oil and gas industry's impact on the species while leaving the industry without clear guidance on what conduct would violate the rule's protections. 

Under the settlement reached with the Trump Administration, USFWS acknowledged that, under Biden, it failed to properly account for habitat restoration efforts in its analysis and produced an incomplete and potentially inaccurate picture of ongoing conservation work in Texas and New Mexico. 

USFWS will now issue a new 12-month finding determining whether a listing is not warranted, warranted, or warranted but precluded, with a decision expected within 24 months of the settlement's entry. 

“The Biden Administration overlooked vital data when it unlawfully listed the dunes sagebrush lizard as endangered,” Paxton said. “I am grateful that the Trump Administration has recognized this mistake and has committed to reevaluating the listing decision under the proper framework as established by the Endangered Species Act. Texas, its people, and its industries should not have to suffer the effects of an illegal rule while the Fish and Wildlife Service further evaluates the status of the species. 

“Vacatur of the rule avoids these effects and ensures that the lizard’s status will be properly assessed over the coming months.”  

The AG’s office said it will continue to monitor USFWS’s review to ensure that the lizard's status is assessed using sound science and is in full compliance with the law.