Desert Survivors v. US Department of the Interior

ORDER RE MOTION TO COMPLETE THE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD

I. INTRODUCTION

In this case, Plaintiffs challenge (1) the decision of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service” or “FWS”) to withdraw the proposed listing of the Bi-State Sage-Grouse as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), 16 U.S.C. §§ 1531-1544 , and (2) the new listing policy on which that reversal was based, namely, the Service’s “Final Policy on Interpretation of the Phrase ‘Significant Portion of its Range’ in the Endangered Species Act” (the “SPR Policy”). The Service provided two separate administrative records, one for its final listing determination for the bi-state distinct population segment of greater sage-grouse in California and Nevada (“bi-state DPS AR”) and another for the SPR Policy (the “SPR Policy AR”). The dispute that is presently before the Court involves the Service’s withholding of documents from the SPR Policy AR on the basis that they are protected by the deliberative process privilege.

In their Motion to Complete the Administrative Record (“Motion”), Plaintiffs asked the Court to compel production of all of the documents listed on Defendants’ SPR Policy AR privilege log that…