ELR Citation: 52 ELR 20021
No(s). 21-cv-00344-JSW, 21-cv-00349-JSW, and 21-cv-00561-JSW (N.D. Cal. Feb 10, 2022) (White, J.)

A district court vacated and remanded FWS’ 2020 rule that removed the gray wolf from the ESA list of endangered and threatened wildlife. Environmental groups argued FWS violated the ESA by failing to analyze gray wolves across the entire lower 48 states and based its delisting decision on the purported recovery of wolves in the Great Lakes and Northern Rocky Mountains. The court found FWS failed to adequately consider threats to wolves outside of the core populations in delisting the entire species. The groups next argued FWS’ decision to treat wolves in western sections of Washington, Oregon, and California as part of the Northern Rocky Mountain population of gray wolves was arbitrary and capricious because it contradicted an early agency finding without a reasoned explanation and ignored best available science. The court found FWS provided sufficient explanation for its changed position on the physical discreteness of West Coast wolves, but failed to consider the best available science with regard to the genetic relationships between West Coast wolves and Northern Rocky Mountain wolves. The groups also argued FWS’ interpretation of “significant portion of its range” under the ESA was unreasonable because it failed to provide a rational metric for determining when a population is “significant,” and instead replaced “significant” with “meaningful” without providing a measuring stick for where meaningfulness falls. The court found FWS’ interpretation was not a reasonable construction of the phrase. It vacated the rule and remanded to the Service.