(Texas Scorecard) — Attorney General Ken Paxton has sent a letter to the Biden administration, notifying them of the state’s intent to sue if the administration does not back down from its most recent weaponization of environmental law.
In a Thursday press release, the attorney general stated that he is challenging the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—also called the “Service”—over unlawfully classifying the dunes sagebrush lizard as an endangered species.
“The Biden Administration has sought countless ways to weaponize federal power to harm Texas’s oil and gas industries,” said the attorney general. “My office is prepared to take action to protect the Texas economy, preserve Texans’ private property rights, and maintain our State-guided conservation efforts that protect our environment.”
Paxton’s office explained that the Service used unreliable assumptions about the state’s oil and gas industry and unsupported conclusions about climate change when it listed the lizard under the Endangered Species Act.
Moreover, the creature is already protected by conservation efforts that were agreed upon by state landowners. These efforts simultaneously protect wildlife while safeguarding property rights and spurring the state’s economic development.
“By disregarding existing conservation efforts, the Biden Administration’s action undermines the property rights of Texas landowners,” explains the attorney general’s office.
Paxton’s letter gives the Biden administration a 60-day notice to withdraw the rule or the state will resort to suing the Service and the federal government.
“Accordingly, the State of Texas intends to file suit against the Service for the violations described above if the Service does not withdraw its unlawful rule within 60 days,” it reads.
Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller told Texas Scorecard on Friday that the federal government needs to leave Texas to Texans. He also argued that the Biden Administration is continuing to violate the U.S. Constitution by working to take land from the American people.
“By disregarding existing conservation efforts by Texans, the Biden Administration’s efforts undermine the property rights of Texas farmers and ranchers and would cause immeasurable harm to the state’s economy,” he said. “We will continue to fight for the rights of Texans to preserve and steward our own land and species while keeping the Lone Star State free of devastating federal overreach.”
American Stewards for Liberty, which advocates for private property rights agreed with Miller. ASL Executive Director Margaret Byfield told Texas Scorecard that the federal government has used the Endangered Species Act to stunt vital mineral development and agriculture production nationwide.
“The Attorney General’s notice is a key step to stop this federal overreach and protect Texan’s property rights,” she said.
This is the latest development in the federal government’s attempts to weaponize environmental law and harm Texans.
Last month, Texas and New Mexico lawmakers pushed back against a federal land grab as the Biden administration continues to advance its since-rebranded “30×30” initiative.
The initiative includes the Land Protection Plan—which aims to seize 700,000 acres of private land in the Southern High Plains region along the Texas-New Mexico border. The Biden administration is targeting the goal of federalizing 30 percent of the nation’s land and waters, by 2030.