The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has ended endangered species protections for a Texas lizard that were introduced in 2024 after state Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the federal government over the designation.
The dunes sagebrush lizard is a roughly 2.5-inch-long reptile native to the Permian Basin has faced threats from oil and gas exploration and development in the region for decades, according to biologists. After the species was designated as endangered by the Biden administration and granted federal protections in 2024, Paxton sued, arguing the Wildlife Service did not use “the best scientific and commercial data” when it declared the lizard endangered.
