Texas sued the Biden administration on Monday over a federal rule listing a rare lizard as an endangered species, concerned that the classification threatens the state’s oil and gas industries.
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)….