Texas Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian applauded a decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to revoke Endangered Species Act protections for the dunes sagebrush lizard. According to a June 9 press release from the agency, the federal action aims to resolve a lawsuit pursued by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on behalf of the Railroad Commission.
Christian called the decision a significant victory against federal regulatory overreach that had targeted oil and gas production. The state’s lawsuit challenged the federal agency’s 2024 decision to list the lizard as an endangered species, arguing that the designation failed to account for extensive voluntary conservation agreements established in the Permian Basin.
Christian said that Texas energy producers have demonstrated that responsible development can coexist without Washington bureaucracy.
According to a court filing tied to the settlement, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acknowledged that its 2024 listing relied on a fundamental error and failed to properly evaluate ongoing habitat restoration efforts across West Texas and southeastern New Mexico.
The Justice Department said the mistake resulted in an incomplete evaluation of those programs. The settlement is currently pending final approval by a federal judge in Midland. Christian said the reversal reflects a broader shift under the Trump administration to stop using species listings as a pretext to restrict land use and impede domestic energy production.