Blm

Plaintiffs-Appellants Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, and Defenders of Wildlife (collectively Sierra Club) appeal the district court ruling upholding the decision by the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to grant a right-of-way over federal land (Road Project) for a wind energy project (Wind Project) developed on private land by Interve-nor-Appellee North Sky River Energy, LLC (North Sky). Because the Wind Project does not trigger the (1) duty to consult under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) or (2) duty to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), we affirm the decision of the district court.

I. BACKGROUND

The Wind Project is a wind energy project developed by North Sky on more than 12,000 acres of private land located in the Sierra'Nevada mountain range, northeast of Tehachapi, California. The Road Project was initiated when North Sky applied to the BLM for a right-of-way over federal land to connect the Wind Project to an existing state highway. The right-of-way (Road Project) would contain underground power and fiber optic communication lines from the Wind Project to California’s…