UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
WILDEARTH GUARDIANS,
Plaintiff,
v. Civil Action No. 08-1596 (CKK)
KEN SALAZAR, Secretary of the Interior,
Defendant.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
(November 19, 2009)
Plaintiff, WildEarth Guardians, has brought suit against Defendant, Ken Salazar,
Secretary of the Interior (the “Secretary”),1 challenging the denial of two petitions submitted by
Plaintiff, each of which sought increased federal protection for the Utah prairie dog. Presently
before the Court is Plaintiff’s [24] Motion to Supplement the Administrative Record, which is
opposed by Defendant. Although the parties indicate that they have successfully resolved most
of Plaintiff’s concerns regarding the administrative record without the need for Court
intervention, a dispute remains as to one document: the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources’
1979 petition to remove the Utah prairie dog from the list of threatened and endangered species
(hereinafter, the “1979 Petition”). After thoroughly reviewing the parties’ submissions, including
the attachments thereto, applicable case law, statutory authority, and the record of the case as a
whole, the Court shall DENY Plaintiff’s [24] Motion to Supplement the Administrative Record,
for the reasons set forth below.
1
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(d), the current Secretary of the Interior,
Ken Salazar, has been automatically substituted as defendant.
I. BACKGROUND
Although the merits of Plaintiff’s challenge to the Secretary’s decisions are not currently
before the Court, it is helpful to understand the relevant statutory and regulatory background
underlying Plaintiff’s claims in this case in order to place the parties’ arguments with respect to
the pending Motion to Supplement in the proper context. Accordingly, the Court shall first
briefly review the relevant provisions of the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), 16 U.S.C. §§
1531 et seq., and its enacting regulations, before then turning to the procedural and factual
background of the case at hand.
A. Statutory and Regulatory Background
In 1973, Congress enacted the ESA “to provide a means whereby the ecosystems upon
which endangered species and threatened species depend may be conserved, [and] to provide a
program for the conservation of such endangered species and threatened species.”2 16 U.S.C. §
1531(b). In order to receive the Act’s protections, a species must be “listed” as endangered or
threatened by the Secretary of the Interior.3 The determination of whether a given species should
be listed as endangered or threatened under the ESA may be made either on the initiative of the
Secretary via the “candidate process” or in response to a citizen’s request via the “petition
2
An “endangered species” is “any species which is in danger of extinction throughout all
or a significant portion of its range . . .,” 16 U.S.C. § 1532(6), while a “threatened species” is any
species “which is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future. . .,” id. §
1532(20).
3
The Secretary has delegated his duties for terrestrial (i.e., non-marine) species to the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”). See 50 C.F.R. § 402.01(b). For convenience,
the Court shall use the term “Secretary” to refer to both the Secretary of the Interior and the FWS
throughout this Memorandum Opinion.
2
process.” See id. §§ 1533(a)(1), 1533(b)(3). Once a species is listed, through either the
candidate process or the petition process, the ESA provides that the Secretary “shall issue such
regulations as he deems necessary and advisable to provide for the conservation of such species.”
Id. § 1533(d).
As is relevant to the instant case, any “interested person” may petition to have a species
listed as threatened or endangered pursuant to the petition process referenced above. Id. §
1533(b)(3)(A). Once a petition is received, the Secretary is required to determine whether the
petition presents “substantial scientific or commercial information” indicating that the petitioned
action may be warranted. Id. By regulation, the term “substantial information” is defined as
“that amount of information that would lead a reasonable person to believe that the measure
proposed in the petition may be warranted.” 50 C.F.R. § 424.14(b)(1). The ESA specifies that
the Secretary is required to make that finding — known as the “90-day finding” — within 90
days after receiving the petition, “[t]o the maximum extent practicable.” Id. The 90-day finding
is published in the Federal Register. Id. § 1533(b)(3)(A). If the Secretary determines that the
listing is not warranted, the listing process for that species is terminated. See id. However, if the
Secretary determines that the petitioned action is warranted, the Act provides that the “Secretary
shall promptly commence a review of the status of the species concerned.” Id. Within 12
months of the receipt of the petition, the Secretary is required to make a finding—known as the
“12-month finding”—stating whether the petitioned action is (a) warranted; (b) not warranted; or
(c) warranted but precluded by other listing activity. Id. § 1533(b)(3)(B).
B. Procedural and Factual Background
As discussed above, Plaintiff’s lawsuit challenges two separate 90-day findings issued by
3
the Secretary denying petitions submitted by Plaintiff. Only one of those negative 90-day
findings, however, is currently at issue in Plaintiff’s Motion to Supplement. Specifically,
Plaintiff’s motion seeks supplementation of the administrative record submitted by the Secretary
with respect to the negative 90-day finding issued on February 21, 2007, in which the Secretary
denied Plaintiff’s February 3, 2003 petition requesting the Utah prairie dog be uplisted from
threatened to endangered (hereinafter, “2003 Petition”). See Pl.’s Mem. in Support of its Mot. to
Supplement, Docket No. [23-2], hereinafter (“Pl.’s Mem.”), at 3, n. 3; see also Am. Compl., ¶¶
34, 38. Accordingly, in reviewing the relevant factual and procedural background, the Court
focuses exclusively on the 2003 Petition.
As set forth in Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint, the Utah prairie dog was originally listed
as an endangered species in 1973. Id. ¶ 30. On November 5, 1979, the Utah Division of Wildlife
Resources submitted the above-referenced 1979 Petition requesting the Secretary delist the Utah
prairie dog. Id. The 1979 Petition triggered a lengthy administrative review process that
culminated in the Secretary’s decision on May 29, 1984, to downlist the Utah prairie dog to a
threatened species. Id. Plaintiff’s 2003 Petition requested the Secretary return the Utah prairie
dog to the endangered category. Id. ¶ 34. On February 21, 2007, the Secretary issued a negative
90-day finding denying the 2003 Petition and concluding that the petition did not provide
substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that reclassification of the Utah
prairie dog from threatened to endangered status might be warranted. Id. ¶ 38.
Plaintiff filed the instant lawsuit on September 16, 2008, challenging, inter alia, the
Secretary’s negative 90-day finding with respect to the 2003 Petition. See Compl., Docket No.
[1]. Pursuant to the Court’s [12] Scheduling and Procedures Order, the Secretary subsequently
4
filed the administrative record with respect to the 2003 Petition and the Secretary’s February 21,
2007 negative 90-day finding (hereinafter, the “Administrative Record”). See Not. of Lodging of
Admin. Record, Docket No. [13]; Admin. Record, Docket No. [14]. Ms. Laura Romin, Assistant
Field Supervisor of the Utah Ecological Services Field Office within FWS, certified that she had
compiled the documents and index that make up the relevant Administrative Record and that the
documents provided therein “comprise the full and complete administrative record for the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision on the plaintiff’s petition to uplist the Utah prairie dog from
threatened to endangered status under the Endangered Species Act.” See Not. of Lodging of
Admin. Record, Ex. 1 (Declaration of Laura Romin Certifying Administrative Record).
The parties subsequently met and conferred regarding Plaintiff’s concerns with the
Administrative Record. See Pl.’s Mem. 2-3. Although the parties were able to resolve most of
Plaintiff’s concerns, a dispute remains as to whether the 1979 Petition is properly considered a
part of the Administrative Record. See id. Unable to resolve this issue, Plaintiff filed the now-
pending [23] Motion to Supplement the Administrative Record, in which Plaintiff contends that
the Administrative Record filed by the Secretary is incomplete due to the omission of the 1979
Petition. Plaintiff therefore seeks an order requiring the Secretary to supplement the
Administrative Record with that petition. See generally Pl.’s Mot.; Pl.’s Reply, Docket No. [25].
The Secretary opposes Plaintiff’s request, arguing that he did not consider, either directly or
indirectly, the 1979 Petition in evaluating the 2003 Petition, such that the petition should not be
included in the Administrative Record. See Def.’s Opp’n, Docket No. [24]. As the briefing on
Plaintiff’s Motion to Supplement is now complete, the issue is ripe for the Court’s resolution and
review.
5
II. LEGAL STANDARD
Judicial review of agency action under the ESA is governed by the APA, which requires
in relevant part that a court set aside agency action that is “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of
discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.” Cabinet Mountains Wilderness v. Peterson,
685 F.2d 678, 685 (D.C. Cir. 1982) (“Since the ESA does not specify a standard of review,
judicial review is governed by section 706 of the Administrative Procedure Act.”); see also 5
U.S.C. § 706(2)(A). In undertaking its review of the agency decision, the APA directs a court to
“review the whole record or those parts of it cited by a party.” 5. U.S.C. § 706. This requires the
Court to review “the full administrative record that was before the Secretary at the time he made
his decision.” Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe, 401 U.S. 402, 420 (1971), abrogated
on other grounds by Califano v. Sanders, 430 U.S. 99 (1977). Courts in this Circuit have
“interpreted the ‘whole record’ to include ‘all documents and materials that the agency ‘directly
or indirectly considered’ . . . [and nothing] more nor less.’” Pac. Shores Subdivision, Cal. Water
Dist. v. U.S. Amy Corps of Eng’rs, 448 F. Supp. 2d 1, 4 (D.D.C. 2006) (quoting Maritel, Inc. v.
Collins, 422 F. Supp. 2d 188, 196 (D.D.C. 2006)). “In other words, the administrative record
should not include materials that were not considered by agency decisionmakers.” Id. (internal
quotation marks omitted).
“Supplementation of the administrative record is the exception, not the rule.” Id. at 5
(quoting Motor & Equip. Mfrs. Assn Inc., v. EPA, 627 F.2d 1095, 1105 (D.C. Cir. 1979)).
“Therefore, absent clear evidence to the contrary, an agency is entitled to a strong presumption of
regularity, that it properly designated the administrative record.” Id.; see also Midcoast
Fishermen’s Ass’n v. Gutierrez, 592 F. Supp. 2d 40, 43 (D.D.C. 2008) (“[The Government’s]
6
certification of the administrative record is entitled to a strong presumption of regularity.”). For
Plaintiff to succeed with its request to supplement the record with the 1979 Petition, it must rebut
this presumption of administrative regularity and demonstrate that the 1979 Petition was before
the Secretary but was nonetheless excluded from the Administrative Record submitted to the
Court. See Pac. Shores, 448 F. Supp. 2d at 6. In so doing, Plaintiff “cannot rely on mere
speculation, but must introduce concrete evidence to ‘prove that the document[] [was] before the
actual decisionmakers involved in the determination.’” Id. (quoting Sara Lee Corp. v. Am.
Bakers Ass’n, 252 F.R.D. 31, 34 (D.D.C. 2008)); see also Oceana, Inc. v. Guitterez, Civl Act.
No. 08-318, 2009 WL 1491516, *2 (D.D.C. May 28, 2009) (same).4
III. DISCUSSION
The key question now before the Court is whether Plaintiff has presented sufficiently
reasonable, non-speculative grounds rebutting the presumption of regularity and demonstrating
that the 1979 Petition was, in fact, considered (either directly or indirectly) by the Secretary.
Plaintiff contends that it has met this burden because it has shown that the Secretary “cited the
1979 Petition in the Federal Register Notice announcing his negative 90-day finding on
[Plaintiff’s] 2003 Petition to uplist the Utah prairie dog.” Pl.’s Reply at 3. According to
4
Although an administrative record may be “supplemented” in one of two ways — either
by (1) including evidence that should have been properly a part of the administrative record but
was excluded by the agency, or (2) adding extra-judicial evidence that was not initially before the
agency but the party believes should nonetheless be included in the administrative record —
Plaintiff has made clear that it moves for supplementation only under the former approach. Pl.’s
Reply at 1-2. That is, Plaintiff argues that the 1979 Petition should be included in the
Administrative Record because it was considered, either directly or indirectly, by the Secretary in
evaluating the 2003 Petition. Plaintiff has specifically disavowed any argument in the alternative
that — should the Court find the 1979 Petition was not, in fact, considered by the Secretary — it
should nonetheless be included in the administrative record. See id.
7
Plaintiff, any “[d]ocuments cited in the Federal Register within the context of a challenged
agency decision belong in the administrative record for that decision . . . because citation
necessarily implies consideration, which, in turn, implies possession.” Id. at 6. Therefore,
Plaintiff concludes that, because the Secretary “has the 1979 Petition in his own files [and] cited
to the 1979 Petition in his negative 90-day finding on the 2003 Petition,” he “necessarily
considered the 1979 Petition when rendering the challenged decision.” Id. at 8.
There is, however, one discrete but significant problem with this argument: the Secretary
did not, in fact, cite to the 1979 Petition in his 90-day finding. As Plaintiff concedes, the only
reference to the 1979 Petition in the 90-day finding is found in the background section of the 90-
day finding that discusses “previous federal actions.” See 72 FR 7843, 7845. The relevant
language states as follows:
On November 5, 1979, the [Utah Division of Wildlife Resources] petitioned [FWS]
to remove the Utah prairie dog from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.
[FWS] found that this petition contained substantial scientific and commercial
information, and the species was reclassified from endangered to threatened on May
29, 1984. (49 FR 22330).
Id. Based on this quoted language, Plaintiff concludes that the Secretary cited to the 1979
Petition, thus demonstrating that he considered it in evaluating the 2003 Petition.
Upon review, however, it is clear that the Secretary cited only to the May 29, 1984 Final
Rule (i.e., 49 FR 22330) — and not to the 1979 Petition. Although the Secretary admittedly
mentioned the 1979 Petition and FWS’ finding that the 1979 Petition contained substantial
information, the citation to the May 29, 1984 Final Rule indicates that the Secretary obtained this
information from the Final Rule rather than from the 1979 Petition itself. Reference to the May
29, 1984 Final Rule confirms that this is likely the case, as it includes an almost verbatim
8
discussion of the 1979 Petition that is reproduced in the background section of the 90-day
finding. See 49 FR 22330, 22330 (“On November 5, 1979, the Utah Division of Wildlife
Resources petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the Utah prairie dog from the
U.S. List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. The Service found that this petition contained
substantial data . . . .”). Accordingly, while the 90-day finding mentions the 1979 Petition, it
does not in fact cite to the 1979 Petition as Plaintiff contends.
This distinction is significant. Although citation to a document may, as Plaintiff urges,
indicate consideration of the contents of the document, the fact that a document is merely
mentioned does not lead to the same conclusion. In this case, the language quoted above
demonstrates at most only that the Secretary considered the May 29, 1984 Final Rule in
evaluating the 2003 Petition.5 It provides no similar suggestion that the Secretary also reviewed
the 2003 Petition itself. As a consequence, even assuming Plaintiff is correct that all documents
cited by the Secretary in his 90-day ruling must be made a part of the administrative record, this
argument does not support Plaintiff’s request to include the 1979 Petition in the Administrative
Record in this case.
Rather, the question now before the Court is whether Plaintiff has satisfied its heavy
burden to rebut the presumption of administrative regularity when it shows only that the
Secretary failed to include a document that was mentioned — but not substantively cited to — on
one occasion in the Secretary’s 90-day finding. The Court concludes that this showing is
5
The Court notes that the May 29, 1984 Final Rule is included in the Administrative
Record in this case. See Not. of Lodging of Admin. Record, Ex. 2 (Index to Administrative
Record) (identifying Exhibit 8 in the Administrative Record as the “Final Rule to Reclassify the
Utah Prairie Dog as Threatened” dated 5/29/84).
9
insufficient. Plaintiff has not proffered any relevant case law in support of this position, and the
Court is not persuaded that a singular reference to the 1979 Petition in the background section of
the 90-day finding is, by itself, sufficient to support supplementation of the record. Rather, as set
forth above, Plaintiff must provide reasonable, non-speculative grounds demonstrating that the
1979 Petition itself was considered, either directly or indirectly, by the Secretary. Plaintiff in this
case has not pointed the Court to any discussion of or citation to the substantive content of the
1979 Petition in the 90-day finding, nor has Plaintiff provided any other evidence to support its
position that this document was before the Secretary and considered by him in evaluating the
2003 Petition. Accordingly, the Court finds that Plaintiff has failed to rebut the presumption of
administrative regularity that inheres to the Secretary’s certification of the Administrative
Record.6 Plaintiff’s [24] Motion to Supplement the Administrative Record is DENIED.
6
The Court notes that Plaintiff, in its opening brief, initially advanced two additional
arguments in support of its position that the 1979 Petition is properly a part of the Administrative
Record; Plaintiff, however, has since made clear in its Reply that it does not rely on either
assertion for support of its Motion to Supplement, and the Court therefore does not address the
merits of these arguments. More specifically, Plaintiff initially attempted to rely on three internal
memoranda prepared by the Department of the Interior as well as the Department of Justice to
support its request to supplement the record, see Pl.’s Mem., at 10-11 & n. 10, but subsequently
withdrew reliance on this argument, Pl.’s Reply at 9, n. 7 (“Because reliance on this guidance is
unnecessary for [Plaintiff] to prevail on its Motion, [Plaintiff] rests its argument solely on the
statutes and case law cited in its Motion and in this Reply.”). Plaintiff also initially asserted that
the 1979 Petition should be included in the Administrative Record because it would serve as an
useful example of a petition that received a favorable 90-day finding and could be used by
Plaintiff as a helpful comparison to the 2003 Petition. See Pl.’s Mem. at 12. The Secretary
opposed this argument, asserting that “accommodating a party’s litigation strategy is not a
recognized basis for supplementing the administrative record.” Def.’s Opp’n at 10. In response,
Plaintiff clarifies that its motion “does not rest on the fact that the 1979 Petition might be helpful
to one of [Plaintiff’s] arguments in this case,” and that it “disclosed its litigation strategy for the
sole purpose of demonstrating to the Court why the 1979 Petition is important enough to warrant
a motions practice.” Pl.’s Reply at 9. The Court therefore understands Plaintiff to have
withdrawn any substantive reliance on the two above-described arguments and does not consider
10
IV. CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above, Plaintiff’s [24] Motion to Supplement the Administrative
Record is DENIED. The parties shall file a Joint Notice, on or before December 11, 2009,
proposing a schedule for proceeding in this matter. An appropriate Order accompanies this
Memorandum Opinion.
Date: November 19, 2009
/s/
COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY
United States District Judge
them in evaluating the merits of Plaintiff’s Motion.
11