United States Second Circuit

In a claim challenging defendants' Public Resource Depredation Order on the ground that it violated treaty obligations of the United States and federal statutes by allowing employees to kill unlimited number of federally protected double-crested cormorants in New York and other states, summary judgment for defendant-government is affirmed where: 1) the Depredation Order is a reasonable method of effectuating the goals of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA); 2) the Depredation Order does not conflict with treaties to which the United States is a party; 3) the Depredation Order represents one rational response to the problem of cormorant depredation based on evidence to the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS); 4) FWS complied with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in adopting the Depredation Order; and 5) the FWS did not violate National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in adopting the Depredation Order.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/18/2008
• Published 09/18/2008

Judges

Court

• United States Second Circuit

Counsel