ELR Citation: 42 ELR 20091
No(s). 11-11915 (11th Cir. Apr 18, 2012)

The Eleventh Circuit upheld FWS' denial of petitions to designate critical habitat for the Florida panther under the ESA. Environmental groups claimed that the denial of their petitions was arbitrary and capricious under the APA. But neither the ESA nor the regulations cited by the groups provide any meaningful standard, much less any standard, against which to judge the agency's exercise of discretion in this case. Accordingly, FWS' denial of their petitions is "committed to agency discretion by law" and is not subject to judicial review under the APA.