Opinion ID: 199678
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Balance of Relevant Impositions & Public Interest

Text: 39 In response to the claimed danger to endangered species asserted by Water Keeper, the Navy argues that the loss of Vieques as a training ground will adversely affect military preparedness. Water Keeper correctly contends that, by enacting the ESA, Congress has already determined that the 'balance of hardships and the public interest tips heavily in favor of protected species.' Strahan v. Coxe, 127 F.3d 155, 171 (1st Cir. 1997) (quoting National Wildlife Fed'n v. Burlington N. R.R., 23 F.3d 1508, 1510 (9th Cir. 1994)). See also Tennessee Valley Auth., 437 U.S. at 184-185 (finding that the ESA reveals a conscious decision by Congress to give endangered species priority over the 'primary missions' of federal agencies). While these precedents direct us to give the endangerment of species, as alleged by Water Keeper, the utmost consideration, we do not think that they can blindly compel our decision in this case because the harm asserted by the Navy implicates national security and therefore deserves greater weight than the economic harm at issue in Strahan. 10 40 Water Keeper argues in response that military preparedness will not be affected to the extent that appellees allege. Water Keeper first points out that the Navy statements on which the district court relied in determining the harm to national security assumed that the training exercises utilized live ordnance, whereas the Navy was utilizing inert ordinance, arguably creating a less realistic and thus less instructional simulation of battle. Second, Water Keeper contends that alternative sites can provide the same training opportunities as Vieques. While acknowledging that these arguments could have some merit, the district court determined on the whole that the Navy's evidence in support of its contentions was more reliable and additionally cautioned against substituting judicial judgment for agency judgment in considerations of how and where the Navy should train. The court did not abuse its discretion in coming to this conclusion.