ELR Citation: ELR 20658
No(s). 93-0726 (RCL) (D.D.C. Nov 18, 1993)

The court upholds a Bureau of Land Management regulation that allows a delegated field officer to make and implement a decision to remove wild horses and burros from overpopulated rangeland and eliminates the automatic stay period for appeals as a reasonable interpretation of the immediate removal provision of the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. The court rejects the plaintiff's argument that allowing delegation of removal decisions to field officers will result in mismanagement because field officials are more subject to local prejudice than the Secretary of the Interior. The court holds that Congress' goal of "immediate" decisions is better met by allowing delegation of decisionmaking authority to the lowest responsible level. Finally, the court holds that the regulations do not preclude judicial review until after administrative remedies are exhausted.

Counsel for Plaintiffs
Richard H. Chused, Prof.
Georgetown University Law Center
37th & O Sts. NW, Washington DC 20007
(202) 662-9050

Counsel for Defendants
Teri T. Thomsen
Environment and Natural Resources Division
U.S. Department of Justice, Washington DC 20530
(202) 514-2000