Fish and Wildlife Service has ended endangered species protections for a Texas lizard that were introduced in 2024 after state Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the federal government over the designation. The end of the dunes sagebrush lizard’s endangered classification came as part of a settlement on July 21 in a lawsuit between the federal government and Paxton’s office. The agreement vacates the 2024 classification, which will require the Wildlife Service to reassess the lizard’s status. A new reassessment of the sagebrush lizard’s status is expected within two years of the settlement, the wildlife service said. A previous effort in 2012 to place the lizard under endangered status also failed when the wildlife service considered placing the species on the endangered list.