Center for Biological Diversity v. National Marine Fisheries Service

OPINION AND ORDER

SALVADOR E. CASELLAS, Senior District Judge.

Before the Court are the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment (Dockets #44 & 47), and their consolidated response and reply memoranda. Dockets # 51 & 53. After reviewing the filings and the applicable law, each party’s motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.

Factual and Procedural Background

Members of the Acropora family, elk-horn and staghorn (collectively, Acropora or Corals) are two of the major reef-building corals that inhabit the Caribbean. Yet in the past three decades their populations have declined at an…