Center for Bio. Diversity v. BLM, No. 14-15836 (9th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseIn 2013, BLM adopted a new Recreation Area Management Plan (RAMP) where the 26,098-acre North Algodones Dunes Wilderness tract would remain closed to off-road vehicles, as would 9,261 acres of milkvetch critical habitat. BLM additionally prepared an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) analyzing the 2013 RAMP, and consulted with the Service pursuant to section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. As a result, the Service issued a new Biological Opinion finding that the 2013 RAMP was not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the milkvetch or desert tortoise. The Center brought challenges under the ESA; the Clean Air Act (CAA), 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.; the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), 43 U.S.C. 1701–1785; the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.; and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. 706 et seq. The district court granted summary judgment for BLM on all but one issue. The court concluded that the ESA does not require Biological Opinions to contain Incidental Take Statements for threatened plants. Therefore, the court need not consider separately the Services' interpretation of the statute. The court rejected the Center's remaining claims, concluding that the Center has failed to demonstrate that BLM’s emissions analysis was arbitrary and capricious. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment.
Court Description: Environmental Law. The panel affirmed the district court’s judgment in favor of the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) in an action by plaintiff environmental groups challenging BLM’s proposal to expand access for off-road vehicle recreation in the Imperial Sand Dunes Special Recreation Management Area in Imperial County, California. The Dunes contain a species of plant known as the Peirson’s milkvetch that is categorized as a “threatened species” under the Endangered Species Act. In 2013, BLM adopted a new Recreation Area Management Plan under CTR. FOR BIO. DIVERSITY V. BLM 3 which a tract would remain closed to off-road vehicle use, as would 9,261 acres of milkvetch critical habitat, and the remainder of the Dunes would be open to off-road vehicle use. Pursuant to section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act, BLM consulted with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, which issued a Biological Opinion finding that the 2013 Recreation Area Management Plan was not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the milkvetch or the desert tortoise. The panel held that the Endangered Species Act did not require the Biological Opinion to contain Incidental Take Statements for threatened plants, such as the milkvetch. The panel rejected plaintiffs’ claims that BLM’s decision to open additional land to off-road vehicle use violated the Clean Air Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act. The panel held that the BLM did not act arbitrarily or capriciously when it relied on air quality analysis demonstrating that emissions resulting from visitors to the Dunes would not be increased impermissibly by the land openings.
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