U.S. Department of the Interior and its Fish and Wildlife Service recently revoked the endangered species listing of the dunes sagebrush lizard in an effort to resolve litigation pursued by the State of Texas. The Trump administration asked a federal judge in Midland overseeing the suit to approve a settlement that would require the Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider the listing. Texas claimed the listing by the Biden administration in May 2024 “would unduly undermine vital economic development in the Permian Basin, subjecting Texas industries and private landowners to regulatory uncertainty and ambiguity….”
Federal officials said the 2024 listing did not properly account for conservation and habitat restoration efforts ongoing for more than a decade in west Texas and eastern New Mexico. According to Reuters June 3, U.S. Department of Justice said the error “led to an incomplete and potentially inaccurate assessment of the potential and ongoing conservation efforts in New Mexico and Texas.”
The settlement is pending approval by the federal judge.
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