ELR Citation: 52 ELR 20029
No(s). 21-35062 (9th Cir. Mar 4, 2022)

The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for FWS in a challenge to its barred owl removal experiment, which was designed to protect the threatened northern spotted owl. Environmental groups argued FWS violated the ESA by issuing a permit that failed to provide a "net conservation benefit," and NEPA by failing to conduct a supplemental EIS after issuing the permits. A district court granted summary judgment for FWS, finding the Service's interpretation that "information" could constitute a net conservation benefit was reasonable and that it did not need to conduct a a supplemental EIS because an earlier EIS accounted for the possibility that nonfederal lands could be included in the experiment. The appellate court held that the experiment would produce a net conservation benefit because it allowed FWS to obtain critical information to develop a policy to protect threatened or endangered species, and that the Service was not required to conduct a supplemental EIS because it adequately contemplated the experiment in an earlier analysis. It affirmed summary judgment for FWS.