The County of Fresno v. Cecil D. Andrus, National Land for People, Inc., Applicant for Intervention-Appellant

National Land for People, Inc. (NLP) appeals from the District Court’s denial of its Fed.R.Civ.P. 24(a)(2) motion to intervene as of right. This appeal arises out of an action the County of Fresno and others brought to enjoin the Secretary of the Interior from promulgating regulations governing excess land sales until an environmental impact statement was prepared. NLP is a group of small farmers and would-be farmers who seek the opportunity to purchase federally irrigated excess land in the Westlands Water District. It asserts that it is entitled to intervene as of right in this case because it has an interest in the regulations being promulgated expeditiously and neither the Secretary of the Interior nor any other party to the litigation will protect this interest adequately. We agree, and therefore we reverse the order of the District Court.

Statement of Facts

In May 1976, NLP brought an action in District Court for the District of Columbia, National Land for People, Inc. v. Bureau of Reclamation, 417 F.Supp. 449 (D.D.C.1976), to compel the Secretary of the Interior to initiate public rulemaking proceedings under the Administrative Procedure Act. NLP requested rulemaking to…