ELR Citation: 53 ELR 20179
No(s). 21-1506 (ABJ) (D.D.C. Nov 16, 2023) (Jackson, J.)

A district court granted in part and denied in part federal agencies' motion for remand and partial vacatur in a challenge to a decision granting a right-of-way for construction of a new highway through the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area in Utah, a critical habitat for the Mojave Desert tortoise. Environmental groups argued the record of decision approving the right-of-way, and related amendments to two resource management plans (RMPs) and an incidental take permit involving the tortoise, were arbitrary and capricious, and sought to have them vacated and implementation enjoined. DOI, BLM, and FWS moved to remand and vacate the right-of-way, and to remand without vacatur the amended RMPs and incidental take permit. The court determined it could not find the necessary legal error that would make vacatur an option at this time, and that vacatur was not necessary to ensure no additional harm while remand was underway. It remanded the right-of-way, the RMP amendments, and the incidental take permit to their respective agencies for reconsideration.