Ninth Circuit Rules Service Improperly Designated Occupied, Unoccupied Critical Habitat For Jaguar

On May 17, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Ninth Circuit) issued its decision in Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Case No. 20-15654), a case in which a mining company challenged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service) designation of certain areas in southern Arizona as critical habitat for the jaguar (Panthera onca) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Ninth Circuit upheld the district court's ruling that the Service improperly designated the challenged area as occupied critical habitat. With respect to the challenged designation of unoccupied critical habitat, the Ninth Circuit overturned the district court's ruling in favor of the Service, finding instead that the Service had also improperly designated the area of unoccupied critical habitat. Justice Thomas dissented on this point: she would have upheld the district court's decision that the record adequately supported the Service's