Coho Salmon v. Pacific Lumber Co.
1999 WL 668714, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13762, 61 F. Supp. 2d 1001 (1999)
Premium Feature
Subscribe to Lexplug to listen to the Case Podcast.
Rule of Law:
An environmental organization has associational standing to sue a private entity under the Endangered Species Act's (ESA) citizen-suit provision on behalf of its members, provided the members themselves have suffered a concrete injury, such as the diminished aesthetic or recreational enjoyment of a protected species.
Facts:
- Pacific Lumber Company (PALCO) conducts commercial timber harvesting operations in several watersheds in Humboldt County, California.
- These logging operations have caused sediment and silt to enter rivers and creeks, degrading the habitat for the coho salmon.
- The coho salmon population in the region has declined dramatically, leading to its listing as a threatened species under federal law.
- Members of the plaintiff organizations (Environmental Protection Information Center, Sierra Club, and Northcoast Environmental Center) derive aesthetic, recreational, and scientific value from the coho salmon.
- These members frequently visit the affected watersheds to observe, study, and fish for coho salmon, and their enjoyment has been diminished due to the species' decline.
Procedural Posture:
- The Environmental Protection Information Center, Sierra Club, and Northcoast Environmental Center sued Pacific Lumber Company (PALCO) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
- The plaintiffs sought an injunction to stop PALCO's timber harvesting operations, alleging they caused an unlawful 'take' of threatened coho salmon in violation of Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act.
- PALCO filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the lawsuit.
- PALCO also filed a motion to dismiss the case under the doctrine of primary jurisdiction, arguing the court should defer to pending administrative agency proceedings.
Premium Content
Subscribe to Lexplug to view the complete brief
You're viewing a preview with Rule of Law, Facts, and Procedural Posture
Issue:
Do environmental organizations have associational standing to bring a citizen suit under the Endangered Species Act against a private company for an alleged "take" of a threatened species, when the organizations' members suffer aesthetic and recreational injury from the species' decline?
Opinions:
Majority - Patel, Chief Judge
Yes, environmental organizations have associational standing. An organization may sue on behalf of its members if (1) its members would otherwise have standing to sue in their own right; (2) the interests it seeks to protect are germane to the organization's purpose; and (3) neither the claim asserted nor the relief requested requires the participation of individual members in the lawsuit. The court found that the organizations' members suffered a cognizable 'injury in fact' through the loss of their aesthetic and recreational enjoyment of the coho salmon. This injury is fairly traceable to PALCO's logging activities, which degrade the salmon's habitat, and an injunction against those activities would likely redress the injury. The court rejected PALCO's argument that the ESA's 'on his own behalf' language precludes representational lawsuits, holding that the purpose of the citizen-suit provision is to encourage broad enforcement by 'private attorneys general.'
Analysis:
This decision solidifies the principle of associational standing for citizen suits under the Endangered Species Act, confirming that environmental groups can act as representatives for their members to sue private entities. It clarifies that an 'injury in fact' is not limited to economic harm but includes aesthetic and recreational injuries, such as the inability to observe or enjoy a species in its natural habitat. The ruling reinforces the power of citizen suits to enforce environmental laws against private actors, even when the harmful activity occurs on private land, so long as the effects create a cognizable injury for individuals in accessible areas.
