Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife

This case involves a challenge to a rule promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior interpreting § 7 of the Endangered *558Species Act of 1973 (ESA), 87 Stat. 892, as amended, 16 U. S. C. § 1586, in such fashion as to render it applicable only to actions within the United States or on the high seas. The preliminary issue, and the only one we reach, is whether respondents here, plaintiffs below, have standing to seek judicial review of the rule.

I

The ESA, 87 Stat. 884, as amended, 16 U. S. C. § 1531 et seq., seeks to protect species of animals against threats to their continuing existence caused…