Ecolex Logo
The gateway to
environmental law
Search results » Jurisprudence

Conservancy Of Southwest Florida v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Country/Territory
United States of America
Type of court
National - higher court
Date
Apr 18, 2012
Source
UNEP, InforMEA
Court name
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
Judge
Tjoflat, Marcus and Siler.
Reference number
No. 11-11915
Language
English
Subject
Wild species & ecosystems, Environment gen.
Keyword
Protection of habitats Protected plant species Protected animal species Protected fish species Management/conservation Protection of species
Abstract
The case concerns a challenge, brought by a number of environmental groups under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's denial of petitions to designate critical habitat for the Florida panther. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) empowers the Secretary of the Interior to designate "critical habitat" for species of fish, wildlife, or plants that have been identified by the Secretary as "endangered" or "threatened." The practical result of designating critical habitat is that Federal agencies must then, in consultation with the Secretary, ensure not only that their actions are "not likely to jeopardize the continued existence" of such species, but also that they do not "result in the destruction or adverse modification" of critical habitat. In this case, the environmental-advocacy groups petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency within the Department of the Interior, to begin rulemaking to designate critical habitat for the Florida panther and, when the Service denied their petitions, sued in district court under the APA. They claimed that the denial of their petitions was arbitrary and capricious. The Appeals Court ruled, "We conclude, however, that the denial of their petitions is not subject to judicial review under the APA because it is 'committed to agency discretion by law.' 5 U.S.C. § 701(a)(2). Accordingly, we affirm the district court's order of dismissal." The Appeals Court noted further, "We take care to note that not every agency action that is in some sense discretionary is exempt from APA review. Otherwise there would be little sense in the APA's provision for abuse of discretion review. See Heckler, 470 U.S. at 829, 105 S. Ct. at 1654 (pointing out the tension, noted by some commentators, between a too-literal reading of the statutory phrase 'committed to agency discretion by law' and 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A)'s provision for review for abuse of discretion). Rulemaking inevitably requires the exercise of discretion, but courts nevertheless review agency rulemaking under the APA.
Full text
COU-158482.pdf