AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the administration of President Joe Biden over an endangered lizard found in West Texas.
The dunes sagebrush lizard, found in southeastern New Mexico and four Texas counties, was classified as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in May. Typically about 2.5 inches long, the lizards are found in the Permian Basin, which is an epicenter of oil and gas production in the U.S.
However, Paxton argues that this classification is improper and violates the Endangered Species Act, and says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to use the best data available when designating the lizard as endangered. He also argues that this actin would undermine important economic development in the Permian Basin, leaving industries and landowners in the area uncertain about what they can do, despite the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service saying otherwise.
“The Biden-Harris Administration’s unlawful misuse of environmental law is a backdoor attempt to undermine Texas’s oil and gas industries which help keep the lights on for America,” Paxton said in a statement. “I warned that we would sue over this illegal move, and now we will see them in court.”
In a statement made upon the new designation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said oil and gas companies can use horizontal drilling to reach deposits without disrupting the lizards' habitat.
The department also said about 100 ranchers and 100 oil and gas partners have entered into voluntary agreements to use conservation practices in regards to endangered species while continuing to manage their land.
"Although new enrollment in these voluntary agreements ends when the listing rule is final and effective, the Service has multiple tools and programs to work with industry, private landowners, and public agencies to streamline and ensure compliance with the ESA," the department said in a statement.
Despite this, Sen. Ted Cruz introduced a bill that would reverse the lizard's designation as an endangered species in July.
"The Biden administration has used the federal government to suppress American energy production at the exact time when the country and indeed the world needs access to affordable American energy," Cruz said when he introduced the bill to the Senate. "This disastrous rule threatens American jobs and undermines the production of energy in the Permian Basin. I call on the Senate to expeditiously take up and pass my legislation to reverse it."
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service identified the lizards as needing protection as far back as 1982 due to the destruction of their habitat for agriculture, according to NewsWest 9.
