SAVING THE DUNES SAGEBRUSH LIZARD

Appearances can be deceiving. At first glance you'd never think the rolling white sand dunes of southeastern New Mexico and west Texas held the largest stand of oak in the country. The region’s shinnery oaks are only 4 or 5 feet high, but they provide food, shade, and a breeding ground for small, brown dunes sagebrush lizards — otherwise known as sand dune lizards. Under the shade of these oak trees, dunes sagebrush lizards bury themselves in the cool, white sand, avoiding predators and regulating their body temperature.

But when it comes to oil and gas development and livestock grazing, there's nowhere for them to hide.

BACKGROUND

These lizards’ sand dune habitat includes part of the Permian Basin, which has been one of world’s fastest-growing oil and gas fields. Controlled studies have found that relatively small numbers of oil and gas wells have dramatically lowered dunes sagebrush lizard populations. With oil and gas development rapidly increasing on federal lands, these lizards have suffered dramatically.

They’re further imperiled by burgeoning sand-mining operations in the area — a secondary impact of the oil and gas industry, which uses the sand for fracking.

On top of all that, these lizards’ habitat loss is compounded by ranchers’ efforts to remove shinnery oak — which is toxic to cattle — by using an herbicide spray.

OUR CAMPAIGN

Refusing to let dunes sagebrush lizards be another casualty of cattle grazing and energy policy, the Center has fought for the species since 2002, when we filed the foundational petition for their Endangered Species Act protection. After two-plus turbulent decades — including another Center petition and two lawsuits — the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finally protected them as endangered in 2024.

Unfortunately that wasn’t the end of their rollercoaster ride. In 2025 Texas sued to remove the species’ protection — even though, as our report showed, federal safeguards would impact only a tiny fraction of active oil and gas drilling leases in the Permian Basin.

The next year, rather than defend its own previous work, the Service under President Donald Trump claimed it had made an “error” when it listed dunes sagebrush lizards and asked the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Texas to strip the listing from the books. With no meaningful examination of the government’s claims, a judge approved a settlement that vacated their listing.

We’re working hard to win back their safeguards — and we won’t back down.

Check out our press releases to learn more about the Center's actions for dunes sagebrush lizards.