Barbouletos

Swan View Coalition v. Barbouletos

Good Law
348 F. App'x 297
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitOctober 13, 2009No. 08-35484California461 words

Opinion

Lead Opinion

MEMORANDUM *

Appellants Swan View Coalition and Friends of the Wild Swan, Inc., appeal the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service. This case involves the impact of the Robert-Wedge and West Side Reservoir Post-Fire Projects’ motor vehicle restrictions on threatened grizzly bears in the Flathead National Forest. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We review the summary judgment de novo and the Endangered Species Act and National Environmental Policy Act claims under APA arbitrary and capricious standards. Native Ecosystems Council v. Dombeck, *299 304 F.3d 886, 891-92 (9th Cir.2002). We affirm.

1. Claims against the Fish and Wildlife Service

The FWS Biological Opinions did not arbitrarily exclude unmet forest plan access management objectives from the environmental baseline. Rather, FWS properly used actual habitat conditions. This is specifically required by Nat’l Wildlife Fed’n v. Nat’l Marine Fisheries Serv., 524 F.3d 917, 924 (9th Cir.2008). Nor were the incidental take statements arbitrary. The Biological Opinions specifically linked motor vehicle access and density to grizzly habitat and…

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