JUDICIAL DEVELOPMENTS

August 2010

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Ninth Circuit Upholds the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Critical Habitat Designation for the Mexican Spotted Owl
Arizona Cattle Growers’ Association v. Salazar, ___F.3d ___

After several years of litigation regarding the Mexican Spotted owl, a species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld certain determinations by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) regarding the owl’s critical habitat designation under the ESA. First, the court found that the FWS properly designated areas containing no owls as “occupied” habitat for purposes of designating critical habitat.