Coalition of Arizona/New Mexico Counties for Stable Economic Growth v. Department of the Interior

Dr. Robin Silver was a commercial wildlife photographer, amateur biologist, and naturalist. Dr. Silver regularly photographed the Mexican spotted owl in its natural habitat in old-growth forests of the American Southwest. In December 1989, Dr. Silver, as an interested person under the Endangered Species Act, filed a petition with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) (defendant) to add the owl to the list of threatened or endangered species. When FWS failed to do so, Dr. Silver threatened to sue the secretary of the interior. FWS then listed the owl as a threatened species but did not designate a critical habitat for the owl, so Dr. Silver filed a suit to force the FWS to designate a habitat, and a court ordered the FWS to designate the owl’s habitat. The court eventually had to order the FWS to send Dr. Silver daily progress reports until a habitat was designated. In the midst of this, the Coalition of Arizona/New Mexico Counties for Stable Economic Growth (coalition) (plaintiff) filed suit against the United States Department of the Interior (defendant), challenging the owl’s placement on the threatened-species list. Dr. Silver timely moved to intervene as of right or permissively. Both the department of the interior and the coalition opposed Dr. Silver’s motion, and the trial court denied the motion but allowed him to file an amicus curiae brief. Dr. Silver appealed.