Have you heard of the Permian Basin? It's a large sedimentary basin in western Texas and southeastern New Mexico — and it's also the highest-producing oil field in the country. The Permian Basin harbors three of the United States' most endangered animals: lesser prairie chickens, dunes sagebrush lizards, and freshwater mussels called Texas hornshells. Decades of relentless oil drilling — plus livestock grazing, mining and pollution — have pushed all three to the brink of extinction. Without safeguards for their home, these species will disappear. #wildlifeconservation #environmentalconservation #keepitintheground #newmexico