Endangered Species Law & Policy

On August 25, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) filed a stipulated settlement agreement (Agreement) in a case challenging the agency’s failure to timely make a 12-month finding on a petition to list the dunes sagebrush lizard (Scleroperus arenicolus) (Petition). Under the Agreement, the Service will submit a 12-month finding on the Petition to the Federal Register no later than June 29, 2023. The 12-month finding will determine whether listing the species is warranted (and will simultaneously issue a proposed rule to list the species), whether listing the species is not warranted, or whether listing the species is warranted, but precluded by higher priority actions.

In May 2018, the Center for Biological Diversity submitted the Petition to the Service, requesting the agency list the dunes sagebrush lizard as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) primarily on the basis of habitat loss caused by oil and gas development in West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico and by sand mining in West Texas. The Petition also requested the Service designate critical habitat for the species. The Petition further alleges that existing conservation efforts for the dunes sagebrush lizard, including several candidate conservation agreements with assurances, are insufficient to protect the species against threats posed by oil and gas development and sand mining.  

On July 16, 2020, the Service published a 90-day finding on the Petition in which the agency determined that the Petition presented substantial information indicating that listing the dunes sagebrush lizard may be warranted.  The Center for Biological Diversity sued the Service on May 19, 2022, challenging the agency’s failure to publish the required 12-month finding.

The listing status of the dunes sagebrush lizard has long been a source of controversy in the region. For additional information on the species and its listing history, please see previous posts on this blog.