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ALLIANCE FOR the WILD ROCKIES, Native Ecosystems Council, Center for Native Ecosystems, and Sierra Club v. Jane LYDER, Assistant Deputy Secretary of the Department of Interior, Kenneth Salazar, Secretary of the Department of Interior, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Pays/Territoire
États-Unis d'Amérique
Type de cour
Nationale- cour inférieure
Date
Jul 28, 2010
Source
UNEP, InforMEA
Nom du tribunal
United States District Court, District of Montana
Juge
MOLLOY, D.W.
Numéro de référence
2010 WL 3023652
Langue
Anglais
Sujet
Espèces sauvages et écosystèmes
Mot clé
Espèces menacées Faune sauvage Protection de l'habitat Espèces végétales protégées Espèces animales protégées Espèces halieutiques protégées Protection des espèces
Résumé
In February 2009, Defendant, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (the "Service" or "FWS"), designated approximately 39,000 square miles of critical habitat for the United States distinct population segment of the Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis). The recovery habitat included identified areas in the states of Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Washington. Plaintiffs, four environmental organizations, contested the Service’s designation in three respects, arguing that, as required by the Endangered Species Act ("ESA"), the Service: (1) arbitrarily failed to designate occupied critical habitat in certain national forests in Montana and Idaho, as well as in Colorado entirely; (2) arbitrarily failed to designate any unoccupied critical habitat whatsoever; and (3) failed to base its decision on the "best scientific data available". Regarding the Service’s designation of occupied critical habitat, the court concluded that the FWS arbitrarily excluded areas occupied by lynx in Idaho and Montana by "treat[ing] evidence of reproduction as a litmus test rather than as a relevant factor to consider." Furthermore, the court held that the FWS failed to properly determine whether areas occupied by the lynx in Colorado possess the attributes essential to the conservation of the species. Secondly, regarding the Service’s decision to not designate any unoccupied critical habitat, including land to be used for linkage and travel corridors, the court concluded that the Service did not act unreasonably in rendering its decision. Finally, concerning the contention that the FWS failed to base its decision on the "best scientific data available," the court disagreed and rejected each of Plaintiffs’ arguments. Accordingly, in order to preserve the previously established 39,000-mile critical habitat for the Canadian lynx, the court kept in place the Service’s February 2009 critical habitat designation, pending a new final ruling consistent with the aforementioned findings made by the United States District Court for the District of Montana.
Texte intégral
COU-157249.pdf