Friends of Blackwater v. Salazar
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
691 F.3d 428 (2012)
The Fish and Wildlife Service removed the West Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel from the endangered species list, relying on "persistence" data from its recovery plan suggesting the population wasn't declining, even though the recovery plan itself listed specific objective, measurable criteria for delisting. Friends of Blackwater and other environmental groups (plaintiffs) sued Interior Secretary Salazar and the Service (defendants), arguing the delisting violated the Endangered Species Act by not satisfying the recovery plan's own stated criteria and was arbitrary and capricious for not using the best available science; the district court agreed with the plaintiffs, and the defendants appealed.
Whether the Secretary of the Interior may reasonably interpret the Endangered Species Act to allow delisting a species without first satisfying every criterion set out in that species' recovery plan.