Paxton sued the Biden-Harris administration again, this time over the media

Texas has filed another lawsuit against the Biden-Harris administration, this time over Central Texas freshwater mussels. The region is experiencing population growth, as is much of Texas. The Biden administration pushed through a federal rule change to expand protections for mussels, putting Texas property rights and laws at risk despite years of state conservation efforts, the lawsuit alleges.

On Tuesday, U.S. Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and their supervisors in the U.S. Northern District of San Angelo.

The claim claims the administration violated the Endangered Species Act, the Administrative Procedure Act and the National Environmental Policy Act when it listed seven mussel species as endangered.

In June, the USFWS listed six freshwater mussels in Central Texas as threatened: the Guadalupe mussel, the Texas mussel, the Guadalupe mussel, the Texas mussel, the Balcony mussel and the false mussel. It also listed them as endangered.

In its designation announcement, the USFWS recognized the significant conservation efforts made by Texas communities.

“Water authorities that have demonstrated their commitment to native freshwater mussel conservation by developing voluntary conservation candidate assurance agreements (CCAAs) with the Service include the Brazos River Authority, the Lower Colorado River Authority, the Trinity River Authority and the Tarrant Regional Water District. The Service is also developing a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) with the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority,” the statement said.

“Research focused on helping to improve understanding of the species is funded by the Texas Comptroller’s Office, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Service, river authorities and others. Work is also underway to evaluate captive breeding methods for Central Texas mussel species at the San Marcos Service Aquatic Research Center, Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery, and Uvalde National Fish Hatchery.”

It also said that identifying critical habitat protections is “important to the conservation of each of the seven species. Designation of critical habitat does not affect ownership of land, establishment of a refuge or preserve, and does not affect private landowners who take actions on their land that do not require federal funding or permits.”

When issuing such a designation, federal law requires the agency to consider existing efforts to protect the species and the economic consequences of regulation. Instead, the USFWS has “forced restrictive regulations on Texas that will unduly limit economic development and nullify local efforts to conserve species’ habitats,” Texas’ lawsuit alleges.

Texas also claims that the USFWS “failed to follow specific procedures and requirements related to endangered species listings as provided by the ESA,” noting that Texas law already protects mussels.

“Texas works closely with private property owners and industry partners to ensure continued conservation, management and protection of the species,” the lawsuit states. “The ability to manage wildlife resources at the state level is especially important in a state like Texas, where rivers and streams are publicly owned and most of the land is privately owned. These local efforts, balanced with ongoing economic development, are critical to protecting Central Texas mussels. The final rule threatens to derail these efforts.”

Texas petitioned the court to strike down the rule and declare it illegal, “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of power, unconstitutional, and otherwise inconsistent with constitutional rights and powers.”

“The Biden-Harris administration is once again using environmental legislation against the state of Texas,” Paxton said. “We are suing to block their latest attempt to undermine the Texas economy and unlawfully interfere with the state’s efforts to protect our wildlife and natural resources.”

The Central Texas mussel designation comes after the USFWS proposed listing two other freshwater mussel species as endangered in the Texas border region last August. He also proposed designating 200 river miles as critical habitat in areas where Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star is active in bordering Brewster, Terrell and Val Verde counties, Central Square reported. During the Biden-Harris administration, these regions have seen an unprecedented mass flow of illegal activity, mostly by men of military age, involved in human and drug smuggling.

Former Border Patrol Agent and Terrell County Sheriff Ted Cleveland told The Center Square that if the Biden-Harris administration “was really concerned about mussels in the Rio Grande, they would have stopped illegal aliens from crossing. They leave behind garbage, clothes and human waste, which cause much more damage to the environment.”

Instead, he said, their border policies have “dismantled the most secure border the United States has ever had” under the Trump administration.

The USFWS has not yet responded to the lawsuit. The Biden-Harris administration is expected to defend it in court.