Conservancy of Southwest Florida v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
677 F.3d 1073
11th Cir.2012Background
- Environmental groups petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service to designate Florida panther critical habitat and were denied.
- Panther listed as endangered in 1967; no critical habitat designated historically.
- ESA amendments in 1978 required concurrent designation for newly listed species; pre-1978 listings had no such requirement.
- Plaintiffs sued under the APA and ESA citizen-suit provisions; district court dismissed, holding no standards for review.
- Eleventh Circuit affirms, holding the Service’s decision not to initiate rulemaking for pre-1978-listed species is committed to agency discretion by law.
- Court clarifies that various pre-1978-era regulations do not provide meaningful standards to limit discretion in this context.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Are pre-1978 designation standards applicable? | Plaintiffs rely on § 424.12/§ 424.14/based regs to require review. | Those regs do not govern initial pre-1978 decisions. | No; standards do not apply to pre-1978 species. |
| Is the Service's denial of rulemaking reviewable under the APA? | Argue APA should review challenged denial. | Decision to deny rulemaking is committed to agency discretion by law. | Not reviewable; committed to agency discretion. |
| Does the ESA’s pre-1982 uncodified provision affect reviewability here? | Contends it imposes § 1533 standards on petitions. | Provision does not apply to petitions; no standards exist. | Uncodified 1982 provision does not apply; no standards exist. |
Key Cases Cited
- Heckler v. Chaney, 470 U.S. 821 (1985) (agency decisions lacking law to apply are nonreviewable)
- Massachusetts v. EPA, 549 U.S. 497 (2007) (rulemaking can be reviewed, but with deference)
- Florida Dept. of Bus. Regulation v. U.S. Dept. of the Interior, 768 F.2d 1248 (11th Cir. 1985) (factors support agency discretion in land decisions)
- Am. Horse Prot. Ass'n v. Lyng, 812 F.2d 1 (D.C. Cir. 1987) (refusal to institute rulemaking bears similarity to enforcement discretion)
- Sierra Club v. Glickman, 156 F.3d 606 (5th Cir. 1998) (no statutory directive here; no clear limits)
- Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serv., 450 F.3d 930 (9th Cir. 2006) (review limited where pre-existing standards apply)
- Lenis v. United States Attorney General, 525 F.3d 1291 (11th Cir. 2008) (agency discretion unreviewable without standards)
- Greenwood Utils. Comm'n v. Hodel, 764 F.2d 1459 (11th Cir. 1985) (statutory limits needed to permit review)