Sharps v. U.S. Forest Service, 93-2424

• Citation: 28 F.3d 851
• Decision Date: 05 July 1994
• Docket Number: No. 93-2424,93-2424
• Parties: Jon C. SHARPS, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE; United States Department of Agriculture; Robert G. Childress, District Ranger, Fall River District of the Nebraska National Forest; Butch Ellis, Acting Forest Supervisor, Nebraska National Forest; Gary E. Cargill, Regional Forester, Rocky Mountain Region; F. Dale Robertson, Chief of the United States Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Appellees.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit)

Page 851

28 F.3d 851

Jon C. SHARPS, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE; United States Department of Agriculture; Robert G. Childress, District Ranger, Fall River District of the Nebraska National Forest; Butch Ellis, Acting Forest Supervisor, Nebraska National Forest Gary E. Cargill, Regional Forester, Rocky Mountain Region F. Dale Robertson, Chief of the United States Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Appellees.

No. 93-2424.

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit.

Submitted Feb. 18, 1994.

Decided July 5, 1994.

James Floyd Margadant, Rapid City, SD, argued, for appellant.

Robert Aaron Mandel, Rapid City, SD, argued, for appellees.

Before McMILLIAN, WOLLMAN and MAGILL, Circuit Judges.

McMILLIAN, Circuit Judge.

Jon C. Sharps appeals from a final judgment entered in the United States District Court ¹ for the District of South Dakota dismissing his amended complaint which sought injunctive relief against the United States Forest Service and individual Forest Service officers (Forest Service). For reversal, Sharps argues the district court erred in dismissing his amended complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. For the reasons discussed below, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

I. BACKGROUND

The Nebraska National Forest, a part of the National Forest System, is located in northwest Nebraska and southwest South Dakota. The Buffalo Gap National Grasslands is a subdivision of the Nebraska National Forest located in South Dakota and managed as part of the National Forest System. 36 C.F.R. Sec. 213.1(b). The western half of the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands is administered by the Fall River Ranger District.

In August 1989 a decision notice was issued by the Forest Supervisor for the Nebraska National Forest which amended the Nebraska National Forest's Land & Resource Management Plan of 1984 (LRMP) and altered the manner in which the black-tailed prairie dogs were managed in the forest. The August 1989 decision, among other things, contemplated a consolidation of prairie dog colonies and a one-mile buffer zone between the colonies and private or Indian lands adjacent to the Nebraska National Forest. Prior to finalizing the August 1989 decision, the Forest Supervisor for the Nebraska National Forest ordered an Environmental Assessment (EA) to be prepared pursuant to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. Sec. 4321 et seq., to analyze the environmental effects of the suggested changes. The EA concluded with a finding of no significant impact, thus precluding the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). ²

Also prior to finalizing the August 1989 decision, the Forest Supervisor for the Nebraska National Forest created a public involvement group to identify public concerns, of which Sharps, a wildlife biologist, was a member. The public involvement group developed several alternatives, and, ultimately, it unanimously recommended to the Forest Supervisor one of their alternative proposals (Alternative 7). On August 17, 1989, Alternative 7 was adopted by the Forest Supervisor as the management plan for the black-tailed prairie dog in the Nebraska National Forest. Sharps did not administratively appeal this final August 1989 decision.

In October 1990 a decision memorandum was published by the District Ranger for the Fall River Ranger District which established a district plan to bring the Fall River Ranger District into compliance with the final August 1989 decision. In November 1990 Sharps administratively appealed the October 1990 decision pursuant to 36 C.F.R. Sec. 217 et seq. The Forest Supervisor upheld the October 1990 decision, and Sharps filed a second-level administrative appeal which was denied by the Regional Forester. The Chief of the Forest Service declined to exercise discretionary review of the Regional Forester's decision. See 36 C.F.R. Sec. 217.17.

In September 1991 Sharps filed a complaint in federal district court seeking to enjoin the Forest Service from enforcing the prairie dog management plan. Sharps alleged that the August 1989 decision notice, and accompanying October 1990 decision memorandum implementing the August 1989 decision, violated NEPA, the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (NFMA), Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq., Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, 16 U.S.C. Sec. 668 et seq., Migratory Bird Treaty, 16 U.S.C. Sec. 703 et seq., and Administrative Procedures Act, 5 U.S.C. Sec. 706(2) (APA). The Forest Service filed a motion to dismiss and motion for summary judgment. The district court dismissed the complaint because it alleged claims based upon the August 1989 decision, and Sharps had failed to exhaust administrative remedies with respect to that decision. Because Sharps had administratively appealed the October 1990 decision, the district court allowed Sharps to amend his complaint to state claims based solely upon the October 1990 decision memorandum. Sharps filed an amended complaint alleging the October 1990 decision memorandum violated NEPA, NFMA, and APA.

The Forest Service filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint asserting that Sharps lacked standing to challenge the October 1990 decision, and that Sharps's amended complaint failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). The district court, finding that Sharps had standing to sue, nevertheless dismissed the amended complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted 823 F.Supp. 668. This appeal followed.

II. DISCUSSION

Sharps argues on appeal that the district court erred in dismissing his amended complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Sharps's amended complaint alleged that the October 1990 decision memorandum, which established a district plan for bringing the Fall River Ranger District into compliance with the August 1989 decision, violated NEPA, NFMA, and APA.

We review Rule 12(b)(6) motions to dismiss de novo. Alexander v. Peffer, 993 F.2d 1348, 1349 (8th Cir.1993) (citing Wells v. Walker, 852 F.2d 368, 369-70 (8th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1012, 109 S.Ct. 1121, 103 L.Ed.2d 184 (1989)). Like the district court, we assume that all the facts alleged in the complaint are true. Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 101-102, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). Because Sharps alleged claims in his amended complaint which arise out of the August 1989 decision memorandum, for which he failed to exhaust administrative remedies, we hold the district court did not err in dismissing Sharps's amended complaint.

Sharps's original complaint, which challenged the August 1989 decision notice by the Forest Service to alter the management of prairie dogs in the forest, was dismissed for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. Courts have long required a litigant seeking review of agency action to exhaust available administrative remedies prior to seeking judicial review. McKart v. United States, 395 U.S. 185, 89 S.Ct. 1657, 23 L.Ed.2d 194 (1969); United States v. Bisson, 839 F.2d 418 (8th Cir.1988) (Bisson ). Such a rule is based on principles of sound judicial administration. See, e.g., Myers v. Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., 303 U.S. 41, 50-51, 58 S.Ct. 459, 463-464, 82 L.Ed. 638 (1938). The exhaustion doctrine guarantees administrative autonomy and efficiency, and ensures that administrative agencies are afforded an opportunity to address their own errors without judicial intervention. See Madsen v. Department of Agriculture, 866 F.2d 1035, 1038 (8th Cir.1989) (Madsen ).

In the present case, the administrative remedy available to Sharps was to initiate an appeal of the August 1989 decision notice at any time within forty-five days of the date of the decision notice. 36 C.F.R. Sec. 217.8(a)(2). Sharps did not institute an administrative appeal of the August 1989 decision notice at any time during the forty-five-day appeal period, and filed his original complaint in federal district court on September 14, 1991, more than two years after the decision notice was issued.

A review of the record reflects that Sharps's interests in immediate judicial review do not outweigh the government's...