ELR Citation: 55 ELR 20003
No(s). 4:18-CV-00053-DN-PK (D. Utah Dec 20, 2024) (Nuffer, J.)

A district court denied an animal advocacy group's request to vacate and remand FWS' decisions approving a general conservation plan (GCP) and incidental take permits for the Utah prairie dog. The group argued the decision to approve the GCP was arbitrary and capricious because the plan will not fully offset impacts of take of the species, FWS' failure to consider alternatives that avoid or reduce take violated the ESA, FWS failed to demonstrate that the take was not likely to reduce the likelihood of survival and recovery of the species in the wild, FWS failed to ensure there was adequate funding, and the Service failed to comply with NEPA. The court found the GCP would minimize and mitigate take of the prairie dog to the maximum extent practicable, that the Service sufficiently considered alternatives to the plan as required by the ESA, that it reasonably concluded the plan would not jeopardize the continued existence of the species, that its conclusion there would be adequate funding was not arbitrary and capricious, and that its decision to issue the plan did not violate NEPA. It denied the group's motion for review of agency action.