Plaintiffs, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club, have filed a motion for summary judgment on all their claims against defendants (collectively the “Bureau of Land Management” or “BLM”). BLM responded by filing a cross motion for summary judgment. The Court denies plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment and grants BLM’s motion for summary judgment.

This dispute centers around the leasing of approximately 198,000 acres of land in BLM’s Battle Mountain District, which covers large portions of Northern Nevada. One hundred six parcels (195,600 acres of land) were offered for lease in June 2017, and 3 parcels (3,680 acres of land) were offered for lease in September 2017. The parcels encompass a vast geographic area, covering portions of Diamond Range and Valley, Sulphur Spring Range, Garden Valley, Fish Creek Range and Valley, Big Smoky Valley, and Railroad Valley. Plaintiffs state that while the available land is generally a “semiarid and arid desert environment,” there are “many” wetlands and other critical water features present, including “34 springs and seeps, 3.9 miles of perennial streams, 127.9 miles of ephemeral and intermittent streams, 286 acres of swamps and marsh, 348 acres of freshwater forested and shrub wetlands, 9,118 acres of lakes, and 13,044 acres of playa.” . The wetlands “support a wide array of aquatic wildlife, including seven amphibian and 19 fish species.”  The non-wetland portions of the parcels support “approximately 73 types of mammals, including mule deer and pronghorn.” . Plaintiff Center for Biological Diversity is a non-profit corporation that “Works through science, law, and policy to secure a future for all species, great or small, hovering on the brink of extinction.”  Plaintiff Sierra Club is also a non-profit corporation with more than 825,000 members “dedicated to exploring, enjoying, and protecting the wild places of the earth.”