ELR Citation: 50 ELR 20159
No(s). 18-17403 (9th Cir. Jul 2, 2020)

The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for BLM in a challenge to the agency's "geld and release" plan for wild horses in northeastern Nevada. An animal rights group argued that BLM violated NEPA by failing to prepare an EIS for the plan because five of the Act's intensity factors demonstrated that gelding and release would have significant effects on the environment. The court found that BLM permissibly determined the intensity factors did not show that the plan would have a significant effect, and thus that the agency permissibly concluded that preparation of an EIS was not required. The group also argued that BLM violated the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (WFRHBA) by failing to consider the expert opinions the group highlighted in its public comments and failing to adequately consider a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report on the agency's wild-horses program. The court found that the WFRHBA did not require BLM to discuss explicitly all expert opinions submitted during the public comment period, and that the agency complied with the Act's requirement to consult the NAS by addressing the concerns and factors that its report raised. It therefore affirmed summary judgment for BLM.