The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for FWS in a challenge to its barred owl removal experiment, which was designed to protect the threatened northern spotted owl. Environmental groups argued FWS violated the ESA by issuing a permit that failed to provide a "net conservation benefit," and NE...

The Ninth Circuit, 2-1, reversed a district court ruling that set aside a land exchange agreement between the Secretary of the Interior and an Alaska Native village company that wished to build a road through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge to allow access to a nearby city. The district court had h...

The Second Circuit affirmed in part and dismissed in part a district court ruling in a lawsuit brought by an oil company against the New York and Massachusetts attorneys general. The company had argued the states' investigations into the company's allegedly deceptive speech concerning climate change...

The D.C. Circuit granted in part an environmental group's petition to review FERC's decision authorizing a new natural gas pipeline and compressor station in Massachusetts. The group argued, among other things, that FERC's EA failed to account for reasonably foreseeable indirect effects of the proje...

A district court denied summary judgment for a class of Gulf of Mexico for-hire charter boat owners and operators in a challenge to NMFS' 2020 rule requiring them to submit electronic fishing reports and use GPS tracking systems for all fishing trips. Plaintiffs argued NMFS violated the APA's notice...

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 Eleventh Circuit vacated a district court's dismissal of a challenge to a developer's filling of a wetland near its hotel in southeastern Georgia. An individual and environmental groups argued the developer did not comply with the CWA's permitting process because it filled the wetland for the pu...

A district court denied two former EPA science advisors’ motion to preliminarily halt the activities of the Agency’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee. The advisors argued the committee violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act’s requirement that memberships be “fairly balanced” be...

A district court dismissed environmental groups’ challenge to the International Development Finance Corp’s (DFC’s) 2020 rule exempting itself from the Sunshine Act. The groups challenged the rule under the APA and the Sunshine Act itself, and sought an order declaring the DFC subject to the Su...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the Forest Service in a challenge to the Service’s determination that a mining company held a valid existing right to operate a uranium mine in the Kaibab National Forest. Environmental groups argued that sunk costs should have been considered when e...