Texas Sues Biden Administration Over Endangered Lizard Status

Attorney General Ken Paxton argues the designation threatens the state's oil and gas industry and relies on flawed data.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of the Interior over the dunes sagebrush lizard's endangered status.
Paxton claims the designation, made in May, is politically motivated and could harm property owners and energy production in the Permian Basin.
The lawsuit argues that the Fish and Wildlife Service relied on faulty data and did not adequately consider existing voluntary conservation efforts.
The dunes sagebrush lizard's habitat overlaps with Texas's largest oil and gas fields, making the endangered status a contentious issue for the industry.
Federal regulators cited habitat loss from oil and gas development, sand mining, and climate change as primary threats to the lizard's survival.