A federal appeals court has reinstated 160 million acres of Arctic Ocean as critical habitat for two species of seal, reversing a district court judge who struck down the Biden-era designation.
The designated habitat, almost as big as Texas, means the government must consider impacts on seals when permitting oil and gas activities in much of the Arctic.
There is “ample support” in the Endangered Species Act to find that the definition of “occupied critical habitat” should include features “essential to the conservation of the species” — not “that the entire designated area is itself ‘essential’ to the species,” wrote Senior Judge Margaret McKeown of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a ruling issued Wednesday.
The statute also doesn’t require “an explanation of why a smaller area would not suffice,” added McKeown, a Clinton appointee, who was joined by Judge Michelle Friedland, an Obama appointee, and Judge Jennifer Sung, a Biden appointee.
