Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sues Biden administration over listing freshwater mussels as endangered

The Guadalupe Fatmucket, one of several species that received federal protection earlier this year, is a rare mussel that is exclusively found in the Guadalupe River basin. (Credit: Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority website)

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday that his office is suing the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Biden administration officials for declaring six freshwater mussel species endangered and another threatened earlier this year.

In June, federal regulators added the Guadalupe fatmucket, Texas fatmucket, Guadalupe orb, Texas pimpleback, Balcones spike, and false spike to the endangered listing, meaning the species is in danger of extinction. The Texas fawnsfoot also received a threatened listing, which means it is likely to become endangered in the future.

In a press release, Paxton said the Biden administration is “once again, weaponizing environmental law to target the State of Texas … We are suing to block their latest attempt to undermine the Texas economy and unlawfully interfere with State-led efforts to protect our wildlife and natural resources.”

Freshwater mussels, often referred to by experts as “the liver of the river,” filter harmful substances like algae and other bacteria from bodies of water, which helps clean water systems.

According to the Wildlife Service, a single freshwater mussel can pump and filter between eight and 15 gallons of water per day, making them some of the most powerful filters in watersheds. But the once-abundant species have declined in recent years as development destroys habitat. They’ve also been heavily impacted by drought, which increases water temperatures when rivers are low.

Experts said the endangered designation will result in cleaner rivers, streams and creeks.

The listing ruled that 1,577 miles of rivers and creeks in the Colorado, Guadalupe, Brazos and Trinity river basins as critical habitat or an area important to the species’ conservation and recovery. Critical habitat designations prevent government agencies from issuing permits or funding for activities that would harm the mussels or their habitat in those areas.

The state’s lawsuit claims that the Fish and Wildlife Service's listing requirements are "nearly impossible for the public to understand" and give vague guidelines on what developers and landowners can do with their own land in the critical habitat.

Paxton’s statement said the federal government failed to follow the specific procedures and committed several errors in its final endangered species listing determination. He added that the designations force restrictive regulations on Texas that limit and impact economic development.