articleThe Brief A federal judge removed endangered-species protections for the dunes sagebrush lizard in West Texas. A federal judge has vacated endangered-species protections for a West Texas lizard that lives in one of the fastest growing oil and gas fields, after U.S. The dunes sagebrush lizard makes its home in a small area of the Permian Basin in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. Fish and Wildlife Service "failed to properly consider habitat restoration in evaluating whether the dunes sagebrush lizard was endangered because of habitat loss, fragmentation, or degradation." Other animals removed from the endangered species listThe dunes sagebrush lizard isn't the only animal to be removed from the endangered species list this year.