Lawsuit challenges spotted owl 
"critical habitat" designations

SACRAMENTO, CA (07/25/06) -- A lawsuit filed recently by Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) claims that the federal government acted illegally when it designated vast areas of public land in the Interior West as "critical habitat" for the Mexican spotted owl

Filed on behalf of the Arizona Cattle Growers' Association (ACGA), the lawsuit contends that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - the agency responsible for the August, 2004, habitat designation - did not follow the requirements of the Endangered Species Act when it set aside areas totaling more than eight million acres in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.

"The critical habitat designation for the Mexican spotted owl runs afoul of the law in a number of ways," said PLF attorney, Damien Schiff. "Some of the areas that have been set aside by the regulators clearly don't have physical and biological features that are essential for the owl's conservation. Other areas are described in such vague terms that it's anyone's guess whether it's necessary to take them out of public use. And, in general, the regulators ignored their legal duty to consider and factor in the economic impact of the designation."

"Shutting off these millions of acres will have substantial negative effects on many private citizens who make a living through cattle grazing and oil and gas appropriation," said Schiff. He cited PLF's client in the case. ACGA is a nonprofit corporation formed in 1904 to provide a unified voice on regulatory and legal issues affecting the ranching industry in Arizona. "Many of ACGA's members hold grazing permits and leases authorizing livestock grazing on national forest lands included within the owl's critical habitat. This habitat designation will hurt them because it could mean an end, or severe curtailment, to their grazing permits on public lands." Under Section 7 of the ESA, a federal agency may not issue a grazing permit if the permitted activity will adversely modify terrain that has been designated as a species' critical habitat.

"It is important to note that this lawsuit is not about removing protections for the Mexican spotted owl," Schiff said. "Rather, the case is about making sure that federal agencies abide by their statutory obligations so that the rights and economic interests of private citizens are not violated."

The case, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, is titled, Arizona Cattle Growers' Association v. Kempthorne.

About Pacific Legal Foundation

Based in Sacramento, Pacific Legal Foundation is the oldest and largest public interest legal organization defending property rights and opposing regulatory abuses of environmental laws.