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Northern Spotted Owl v. Lujan

758 F. Supp. 621 (1991)

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Northern Spotted Owl v. Lujan

United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
758 F. Supp. 621 (1991)

Facts

In June 1989, the Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) (defendant) proposed listing the northern spotted owl as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This decision was confirmed in a final rule issued in June 1990. In both proposed and final rules, the Service, acting on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior (the secretary) (defendant), did not designate a critical habitat for the spotted owl, expressly deferring the designation on grounds that a critical habitat was not determinable. The Service did not include any explanation for the deferral, for why the habitat was nondeterminable. The Service also did not provide an account of the steps it had taken to determine what the critical habitat should be or detail the information it still needed to make the designation. The Service did state in the proposed rule that it would evaluate the economic and other impacts of designating a critical habitat. A group of environmental organizations (plaintiffs) sued the secretary and other government entities (defendants) seeking to compel designation of a critical habitat for the spotted owl, alleging that the secretary’s failure to do so at the time the owl was listed as a threatened species was a violation of the ESA and the Administrative Procedure Act.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Zilly, J.)

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