Florida Key Deer v. Paulison

The National Wildlife Federation and other wildlife organizations (plaintiffs) brought suit on behalf of the Florida Key deer against R. David Paulison, secretary of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); and the secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI), which includes the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) (defendants). The FWS had determined in 1984 that FEMA’s administration of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) authorized development in critical habitat in the Florida Keys that pushed the deer to the brink of extinction. The wildlife organizations sued to compel FEMA to comply with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by formally consulting with the FWS about how its administration of the NFIP affected the deer. The district court entered an injunction requiring FEMA to consult with the FWS. After consultation, the FWS found that FEMA’s administration of the program in the Keys was jeopardizing the deer plus eight other endangered species. The FWS offered “reasonable and prudent alternatives” (RPAs) and recommended a conservation plan, and FEMA adopted a program that offered incentives to communities that developed conservation plans. However, nine years later, no evidence showed even a single community had developed or adopted a conservation plan. The wildlife organizations filed an amended complaint in the original lawsuit challenging the RPAs and the conservation program as inadequate under the ESA and the Administrative Procedure Act. The district court granted the wildlife organizations summary judgment and enjoined FEMA from issuing new flood-insurance policies within the endangered species’ habitats. FEMA and the FWS appealed.