Norton

ORDER

Plaintiffs, the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council (SMWC) and the Klamath Forest Alliance (KFA), have brought suit against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) (and its relevant officials and parent agency). They allege that the agency has violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA). The suit arises out of a proposed amendment to the land management plan for the Redding Resource Area concerning acquisitions of land for the Hor-shoe Ranch Wildlife Area (HRWA). The parties have both filed cross-motions for summary judgment and submitted an additional round of briefing at the court’s request on the question of standing.

I.

FACTS

A. THE HORSESHOE RANCH WILDLIFE AREA

In 1977 the California Department of Fish and Game (CDF & G) bought the B.B. Miller cattle ranch to protect the principle wintering grounds of the Jenny Creek black-tail deer herd. Excerpt of Record (ER) 018; Administrative Record (AR) 00112. This action established the Horseshoe Ranch Wildlife Area as a public deer habitat preserve. It is located just south of the California-Oregon border, east of Interstate 5…