Congressmen from Kansas and Texas, claiming a threatened lizard is threatening the U.S. oil and gas industry in the Permian Basin, have filed a measure to reverse the federal endangered species status given the animal by the Biden administration.
Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) and Rep. Tracey Mann (R-KS) filed their Limiting Incredulous Zealots Against Restricting Drilling (LIZARD) Act of 2025. They’re targeting the actions of the government taken last year to protect the lizard that dwells in the sand dunes of southeast New Mexico and West Texas where oil drillers, including many from Oklahoma, are active.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the lizard as endangered in May of last year, a move that gave the species the highest level of federal protections. It was made after conservationists argued the oil industry’s operations disturbed the oak plants used by the lizard in breeding and hiding from predators.
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