District Court Reinstates Proposal to List Bi-State Sage Grouse as Threatened

On May 16, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California vacated the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s planned withdrawal of its proposed rule to list the bi-state sage grouse as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). The case is Desert Survivors, et al. v. U.S. Department of the Interior, et al., Case No. 20-cv-06787-JSC (N.D. Cal. 2022).

Background

The bi-state sage grouse resides along the border of California and Nevada with an estimated population of 3,305. In 2013, the Service issued a proposed rule to list the grouse as threatened but subsequently sought to withdrawal that proposal in 2015. After a court vacated the attempted withdrawal, the Service again sought to withdraw its proposal to list the grouse as threatened in 2020. Plaintiffs challenged this attempted withdrawal.

Decision

The district court concluded that the Service’s 2020 withdrawal was unlawful for several reasons. First, the district court concluded that the Service violated ESA section 4’s requirement that listing decisions be based on the best scientific and commercial data available because the Service failed to adequately respond to relevant studies undermining its planned withdrawal. Second, the district court concluded that the Service’s listing analysis was arbitrary because the Service found two population management units of the grouse with unique genetic characteristics likely were to become in danger of extinction but failed to analyze those units separately or provide a rational basis for why those units are not significant. Third, the district court concluded that the Service’s application of its Policy for Evaluation of Conservation Efforts—which the Service uses to determine whether a formalized conservation effort contributes to forming a basis for a listing decision—was flawed. Based on these errors, the district court vacated the Service’s planned 2020 withdrawal, reinstated the 2013 proposal, and remanded the matter to the Service.

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If you have any questions about this case or the ESA, please contact Jared Wigginton at jared@goodstewardlegal.com.

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