The sagebrush lizard that 'threatens national security': Texas extractivism and unique High Plains sand dune biodiversity

(Originally posted elsewhere on 19 June 2020. With an update from July 2026.)

Thinking about her (shinnery oak). also thinking about her (High Plains sand dunes region). And her (dunes sagebrush lizard). And her, too (lesser prairie chicken).

I’d think that shinnery oak dunes might be one of the more unique habitats/ecosystems in interior temperate North America; as picturesque and complex and rare as they are, they don't often receive visibility/attention outside of the region. There might be at least one notable reason for the silence, including how the extremely rare endemic sand dune-dwelling lizard “threatens national security.”

High Plains sand dunes are pretty unique.

There's the extensive sand dunes, which exist in an isolated, “small” distribution range within a kind of peripheral region: the shortgrass prairies of the so-called “High Plains ecoregion” (of the Texas panhandle and nearby portions of New Mexico, southeastern Colorado, and the Oklahoma panhandle).

And then there's this species of oak, the shinnery oak (Quecus havardii) that is endemic to these sand dunes landscapes.

And even though this bird used to inhabit a bit of a broader range across the High Plains, the lesser prairie chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) is now pretty closely associated with shinnery oak/dune habitats. (Compare the oak and chicken distribution maps.)

And, finally, you have a very special reptile: The dunes sagebrush lizard, or just “dune lizard” (Sceloporus arenicolus), which is entirely endemic to sand dunes with shinnery oak habitat.

Look at how isolated/narrow its distribution range (the whole species) is:

That map displays the entire global distribution range of the dunes sagebrush lizard, compared to West Texas fossil fuel industry oil and gas wells (in orange-ish/red-ish).

Thus, the lizard's designation as an endangered species might help explain responses like this:

A little entanglement here with a Montana figure!

And here we are:

Oh, and now an update from July 2026:

Is the nation now secure?