NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge says U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials’ were within the law when they declared thousands of acres in Louisiana and Mississippi as ’critical habitat’ for an endangered frog species.
The case involved 1,544 acres in St. Tammany Parish and 5,000 acres in Mississippi named as critical habitat for the dusky gopher frog.
Landowners had argued that the Fish and Wildlife Service should have prepared an environmental impact statement on the designation, and that the service failed to adequately consider the possible economic impact of its decision.
U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman rejected those and other arguments Friday.
Landowners worry that the designation could cost more than $33 million in lost development. A wildlife service lawyer argued Thursday that such a high cost is unlikely.
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