The US Supreme Court [official website] heard oral arguments in two cases on Monday, marking the beginning of its 2018 term.

At issue in Weyerhaeuser Company v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service [SCOTUSblog materials] is whether the Endangered Species Act [text] forbids an agency to designate private property as an “unoccupied critical habitat” if the land is not essential to species conservation. There is also a question of whether the judiciary can review this agency decision if it was motivated by economic interest.

The petitioner, the lessee of the land, argued [transcript, PDF] that the government should not designate the area as a “critical habitat” because the species in question, the dusky gopher frog, had not inhabited the area for decades. The government said that restoring the area is “essential” to help conserve the species.

The second case, Mount Lemmon Fire District v. Guido [SCOTUSblog materials], deals with whether the Age Discrimination in Employment Act [text] exempts state and local government employers with less than 20 employees. The respondent, a former firefighter, sued the local fire department for alleged age discrimination after his termination. The fire department claimed that it was exempt from the ADEA. Most of the debate centered [transcript, PDF] on the language of the statute.