Markle Interests v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service

827 F.3d 452 (2016)

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Markle Interests v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
827 F.3d 452 (2016)

Facts

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) (defendant) designated 1,544 acres of land privately owned by Markle Interests and three additional entities (collectively, the landowners) (plaintiffs) as critical habitat for the dusky gopher frog (the frog). The property contained rare ephemeral (seasonal) ponds, one of the features that the frogs need to breed and survive. The landowners sued in federal district court for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief. The landowners argued that the property was not currently habitable by the frog and not likely to be habitable in the future, so it could not be essential to the conservation of the species. The landowners argued that designation in this circumstance would constitute an unreasonable interpretation of the word essential and would give the FWS unlimited power to burden private property. The district court rejected these arguments, and the landowners appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Higginson, J.)

Dissent (Owen, J.)

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