The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas by state Attorney General Ken Paxton, concerns the dunes sagebrush lizard.
Paxton has called the classification a backdoor attempt to undermine the state’s vital oil and gas industries.
Texas argues that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) did not use the best scientific and commercial data when making the decision to list the rare spiny lizard under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The dunes sagebrush lizard is found only in New Mexico and west Texas. It lives in sand dunes where shinnery oak trees are generally the only vegetation. Some of its habitat overlaps in the high-producing Permian Basin, an economically critical area for Texas due to its oil and gas production.
The FWS considers oil and gas production the primary threat to the creature and its habitat.
Texas argues that the FWS relied on habitat models with “inaccurate and arbitrary assumptions” about the lizard’s population and future viability. It also argues that the FWS ignored voluntary conservation programs already in place between the state and private landowners and did not provide clear guidelines about what activities can and cannot take place in the lizard’s habitat.
“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 July 25 letter to the federal government, Paxton warned FWS and the Department of the Interior that he would sue over the rulemaking within 60 days. He said the rule would harm the state’s economy, agricultural and meat industries, education, and energy independence, and violate the ESA and the Administrative Procedures Act.
Paxton highlighted the significance of Texas’s status as the nation’s largest oil and natural gas producer. He noted that the Lone Star state produced almost half of the country’s crude oil and 27 percent of its gas in 2022, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
FWS Stands By Classification
The dunes sagebrush lizard was first put forward by the FWS as a candidate for listing as an endangered species in 2001. The agency proposed its listing in 2010 before issuing its final rulemaking in May.
In its final rulemaking, FWS said it would designate critical habitat for the dunes sagebrush lizard in future rulemaking. Paxton challenged this, saying that FWS has itself said the lizard is not in danger of extinction throughout a significant portion of its habitat and “may persist over the next several decades,” even in highly degraded areas.
Texas argues that FWS relied on habitat models with “inaccurate and arbitrary assumptions” about the lizard’s population and future viability rather than accurate data on the species’ actual numbers.
Additionally, Texas argues that the FWS failed to account for state-run conservation programs already in place, such as the Texas Conservation Plan and other agreements that aim to protect the lizard while allowing economic activities to continue.
“The State of Texas, including various State agencies, has worked together with private landowners and industry partners to implement voluntary conservation measures to manage, conserve, and recover the dunes sagebrush lizard,” the lawsuit states.
Furthermore, the state argues that the final rule does not provide clear guidelines about what activities can and cannot take place in the lizard’s habitat and that the classification will harm the state’s economy, agricultural industry, and energy independence.
“The ability to manage wildlife resources at the state level is especially important in Texas, where most land is privately owned,” the lawsuit states. “Texas’s collaboration with private landowners to achieve conservation while enabling economic development is crucial to the success of conservation efforts. The Final Rule threatens to derail these efforts.”
The Epoch Times contacted FWS for comment but didn’t receive a reply by publication time.
FWS responded to the state’s concerns in comments to the federal register, standing by its classification of the species and its habitat as endangered while saying its model “represents the best available projections of future oil and gas drilling.”
“Our listing determination that the dunes sagebrush lizard meets the Act’s definition of an “endangered species” is supported by the current condition of the habitat and the risk that condition poses to the dunes sagebrush lizard throughout all of its range,” the agency stated.
The lawsuit names FWS, the Interior Department, and their officials as defendants.
