LIZARD Act Aims to Permanently Delist Dunes Sagebrush Lizard, Removing ESA Protections

This bill, officially the "Limiting Incredulous Zealots Against Restricting Drilling Act of 2025" (LIZARD Act), takes direct aim at the conservation status of a single species. Its core action, outlined in Section 2, is to remove the dunes sagebrush lizard from the federal list of threatened and endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Critically, it also prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from ever listing this specific lizard again, regardless of future scientific findings about its population status or threats.

One Species, Off the Books

The immediate effect of this legislation is straightforward: the dunes sagebrush lizard loses all protections afforded by the ESA. The Endangered Species Act is the primary federal law designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction. Listing under the ESA typically triggers requirements for federal agencies to ensure their actions don't jeopardize the species and often leads to the designation of critical habitat, limiting activities that could harm the species or its environment. This bill nullifies those protections specifically and permanently for the dunes sagebrush lizard.

Clearing the Ground?

By removing the lizard from the endangered list and preventing future listing, the LIZARD Act effectively eliminates a significant environmental consideration for land use in its habitat, which overlaps with energy-rich areas like the Permian Basin. Section 2 doesn't explicitly mention drilling, but removing ESA protections for a species known to inhabit potential drilling sites directly lowers regulatory hurdles for development activities, including oil and gas extraction. The practical outcome is that potential impacts on this specific lizard would no longer be a factor legally requiring consideration or mitigation under the ESA for projects in its range.