Opinion ID: 171698
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Standing of Kane and Garfield Counties

Text: Plaintiffs also appeal the district court's determination that Kane and Garfield Counties lack standing. Although we have held that intervenors need not establish standing in their own right provided they are aligned with another party with constitutional standing, see San Juan County, Utah v. United States, 503 F.3d 1163, 1171-72 (10th Cir.2007) (en banc), the Counties were named plaintiffs, not intervenors, and their claims must confer standing, see Aplt.App. 81, ¶¶ 34-36. Article III requires a plaintiff to establish three elements: (1) injury in fact, (2) causation, and (3) redressibility. ACLU of N.M. v. Santillanes, 546 F.3d 1313, 1317-18 (10th Cir.2008). A plaintiff must first demonstrate `an injury in fact,' defined as the `invasion of a legally protected interest which is (a) concrete and particularized, and (b) actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical.' Id. at 1318 (quoting Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992)) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). A plaintiff must next demonstrate a `causal connection between the injury and the conduct.' Id. (quoting Lujan, 504 U.S. at 560, 112 S.Ct. 2130). Finally, a plaintiff must demonstrate that it must be `likely, as opposed to merely speculative, that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision.' Id. (quoting Lujan, 504 U.S. at 561, 112 S.Ct. 2130). We review issues of standing de novo. Id. (quoting Nova Health Sys. v. Gandy, 416 F.3d 1149, 1154 (10th Cir. 2005)). As to the injury requirement, Kane and Garfield Counties argue that they have a proprietary interest that is harmed by the BLM's grant of grazing permits to Canyonlands. The Counties argue that they will suffer financially from a decline in the range-fed cattle industry, and that the BLM's issuance of grazing permits to Canyonlands effectively eliminate[s] livestock grazing in the area. Aplt. Br. 50. In making this argument, the Counties suggest that a decrease in livestock grazing decreases the tax revenues generated through sales and property taxes, thus injuring the Counties. Aplt. Br. 49-50. The Counties further argue that a decrease in livestock grazing injures the aesthetic appeal of the Counties and will hamper their ability to provide for the health, safety, and welfare of their citizens. Aplt. Br. 52-53; Aplt.App. 33-35, ¶¶ 37-44. We find no direct injury to the Counties resulting from the mere issuance of grazing permits to Canyonlands. The Counties ask us to assume that the issuance of the permits will, without question, decrease tax revenues because Canyonlands has no intention to graze the land. They also ask us to assume further that this decrease in grazing, which seems purely speculative, will negatively impact the aesthetic appeal of the counties. We cannot make such assumptions, and therefore, the injury argument at this stage is merely conjectural or hypothetical. Even if the Counties could establish a cognizable injury, they must next demonstrate that the injury is fairly traceable to the challenged action of the defendant, thus satisfying the causation element of standing. Friends of the Earth v. Laidlaw Envtl. Servs., 528 U.S. 167, 180, 120 S.Ct. 693, 145 L.Ed.2d 610 (2000). The Counties, however, are unable to demonstrate that the BLM's action leads directly to the elimination of grazing in the areas at issue. The Counties argue that their asserted financial injury is fairly traceable to the BLM's actions because the BLM, in its unlawful collaboration with Canyonlands, allowed the issuance of a grazing permit to an entity with no intent to graze livestock. Aplt. Br. 54-55. As we have addressed above, the BLM was not required to inquire into Canyonlands subjective intent. Any assertion, therefore, that the BLM intentionally issued a permit to an entity that had no intention of grazing is irrelevant. The Counties have not demonstrated any direct link between decreased tax revenues due to a decrease in grazing and the issuance of grazing permits to Canyonlands. Finding that there is no concrete injury or that any asserted injury is caused by an action of the BLM, there is no need to reach the issue of redressibility. The district court properly dismissed the Counties for lack of standing. AFFIRMED.