Gardner v. U.S. Bureau Of Land Management

Apr 7: In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, Case No. 09-35647. Appealed from the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. According to the Appeals Court, Plaintiffs-Appellants Fred Gardner and Concerned Citizens for Little Canyon Mountain (sometimes collectively Gardner) brought suit for declaratory and injunctive relief pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), seeking to compel Defendant-Appellee United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to prohibit off-road vehicle use of Oregon's Little Canyon Mountain area. The district court granted summary judgment to the BLM. On appeal, Gardner asserts that the BLM's failure to close Little Canyon Mountain to off-road vehicle use violated the Federal Land and Policy Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) and off-road vehicle regulations, 43 C.F.R. pts. 8340-8342.

 

    The Appeals Court affirmed the district court decision and said, "We hold that the BLM did not, and was not required to, make a finding that the off-road vehicle use of which Gardner complains had caused 'considerable adverse effects' on the resources enumerated under 43 C.F.R. § 8341.2(a) and, accordingly, we cannot compel the BLM to act to close Little Canyon Mountain to off-road vehicle use. We also hold that the BLM's denial of Gardner's petition to close Little Canyon Mountain to off-road vehicle use was not arbitrary and capricious."

 

    Access the complete opinion (click here).