A stand of whitebark pine grows near Crater Lake in Oregon. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that federal officials lawfully decided that Endangered Species Act protection for the tree was “warranted but precluded” by other priorities.

Whitebark pine was lawfully denied Endangered Species Act protection despite facing the danger of extinction, according to a federal appeals court.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service properly concluded that ESA protection for the tree was “warranted but precluded” by proposed listings for other species, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

The Wildwest Institute and the Alliance for the Wild Rockies filed a lawsuit arguing the decision was arbitrary and capricious because the agency had considered whitebark pine a high priority for listing.

The 9th Circuit has rejected this argument, ruling that the Fish and Wildlife Service was allowed to consider other factors beyond the “listing priority number,” or LPN, of a species in reaching the conclusion that ESA protection was “warranted but precluded.”

The language of the ESA makes clear the LPN “ranking system is just one tool used to identify priorities for listing,” the 9th Circuit said, upholding an earlier decision by Chief Judge Dana Christensen of the U.S. District Court of Montana.

“Congress and FWS enshrined flexibility into the system so that the responsible agency could make the most efficient and effective use of its resources,” according to the 9th Circuit’s opinion.

The appellate court also decided the agency wasn’t required to “provide a detailed, individualized explanation for each species” whose listing precluded protection for whitebark pine.

“We decline to impose such a burdensome requirement, which would divert scarce agency resources to writing justifications rather than studying the pertinent sciences, species, and ecosystems,” the ruling said.

Even so, the 9th Circuit judges said that “vigorous advocacy for this imperiled species is laudable” and that they can appreciate the plaintiffs’ “frustration with the slow-moving ESA process.”

“Despite its best efforts, FWS’s ability to protect species through the ESA is limited by practical realities,” the ruling said.

Whitebark pine are being killed by a disease, white pine blister rust, as well an insect, the mountain pine beetle, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Meanwhile, other species of trees have crowded out whitebark pine due to fire suppression efforts over the past century, the agency said.