Weyerhaeuser Company v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Supreme Court · decided November 27, 2018 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Decided
- November 27, 2018
- Term
- October Term 2018
- Vote
- 8–0
- Majority author
- Justice Roberts
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Chief Justice ROBERTS delivered the opinion of the Court. The Endangered Species Act directs the Secretary of the Interior, upon listing a species as endangered, to also designate the "critical habitat" of the species. A group of landowners whose property was designated as critical habitat for an endangered frog challenged the designation. The landowners urge that their land cannot be critical habitat because it is not habitat, which they contend refers only to areas where the frog could currently survive. The court below ruled that the Act imposed no such limitation on the scope of critical habitat. The Act also authorizes the Secretary to exclude an area that would otherwise be included as critical habitat, if the benefits of exclusion outweigh the benefits of designation. The landowners challenged the decision of the Secretary not to exclude their property, but the court below held that the Secretary's action was not subject to judicial review. We granted certiorari to review both rulings. I A The amphibian Rana sevosa is popularly known as the "dusky gopher frog"-"dusky" because of its dark coloring and "gopher" because it lives underground. The dusky gopher frog is about three inches long, with a large head, plump body, and short legs. Warts dot its back, and dark spots cover its entire body. Final Rule To List the Mississippi Gopher Frog Distinct Population Segment of…
Excerpt of a 27,260-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.