American Sand Ass'n v. United States Department of the Interior

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND GRANTING DEFENDANTS AND DEFENDANT-IN-TERVENORS’ CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

I. Introduction

Plaintiffs American Sand Association, et al., have sued the United States Department of the Interior, Gale Norton, Secretary of the Interior, and the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) seeking to set aside a temporary closure of portions of the Algodones Dunes to off-highway vehicle use. Plaintiffs contend that the closures fail to comply with the procedures of the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), 42 U.S.C. § 4331 et seq., and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (“FLPMA”), 43 U.S.C. §§ 1701 et seq.

The closures at issue are the result of a consent decree entered in another lawsuit between environmental organizations and the BLM in the Northern District of California. Pursuant to the terms of the settlement, the BLM agreed to temporarily close portions of the Algodones Dunes, located in Imperial County, to off-highway vehicle use until a new Recreational Area Management Plan could be implemented. Two of the environmental organizations involved in the Northern California action, the Center for Biological…