ELR Citation: 52 ELR 20026
No(s). 1:19-cv-00118-CWD (D. Idaho Feb 24, 2022) (Dale, J.)

A district court denied summary judgment for landowners in Idaho who sought to halt construction of a public recreational trail across their ranch. The landowners argued the Forest Service violated the ESA by failing to complete §7 consultation with FWS; the CWA by failing to disclose the nature of the activities associated with construction before obtaining permission to proceed under a nationwide permit; the National Forest Management Act by failing to ensure its actions were consistent with the forest plan; and NEPA by failing to consider connected, cumulative, and similar impacts and by improperly using a categorical exclusion to achieve compliance. The court found the Service's conclusion that sediment discharge during construction would have no effect on listed species or their habitat was neither arbitrary nor capricious, that the landowners failed to state a claim under the CWA, that the Service described how the trail was consistent with forest plan components, and that the Service's determination that no extraordinary circumstances existed to preclude application of the CE or to require preparation of an EA or EIS was supported by the record. It denied the landowners' motion for summary judgment.