The court holds that although conservation officers conducted a search and seizure without a warrant and within the curtilage of individuals' home, the officers enjoyed qualified immunity. The individuals own an undeveloped tract of 50 acres that abuts a state park in which no hunting is allowed. Th...

The court affirms a district court decision holding that an organization lacked standing to seek judicial review of a proposed land transaction between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), a city, and a private developer that would protect sensitive wetlands and wildlife habitat. Under the tran...

The court affirms in part and reverses in part a district court decision upholding National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) regulations providing a Native American tribe an allocation of the Pacific whiting fishery. In the 1850s, Washington State entered into several treaties known as the Stevens Tr...

The court holds that the New York Air Pollution Mitigation Law is preempted by the Clean Air Act (CAA) and violates the U.S. Commerce Clause. Under Air Pollution Mitigation Law §66-k, an electric generator is assessed an offset penalty when it sells a sulfur dioxide (SO2) allowance to a generator i...

The court affirms a district court decision enjoining federal administrative proceedings on the grounds that the proceedings infringed upon a state's constitutionally protected sovereign interests. Three individuals filed administrative complaints against Rhode Island's environmental agency alleging...

The court affirms in part and vacates in part a district court order requiring the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to disclose to Maine certain documents relating to efforts to list Atlantic salmon in eight rivers in Maine as endangered. Although the district court allowed DOI to withhold many...

The court vacates a district court order granting a permanent injunction restraining environmental groups and the government from interfering with the construction or operation of a multi-site hog production facility on tribal trust land. In 1998, a Native American tribe and a company agreed to nego...

The court holds that a Vermont Environmental Board Act 250 (Act 250) permit that restricted truck travel through a village does not violate the U.S. Commerce Clause or the Supremacy Clause. A company whose goods were transported through the village challenged the board's application of Act 250 argui...

The court holds that the U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service) violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Rescissions Act by reissuing a permit for livestock grazing in the Gallatin National Forest without first conducting a NEPA review. In 1994, the Forest Service implemented a po...

The court vacates a district court decision dismissing the United States' suit to quiet title to water rights in a portion of the Rio Grande River. The dispute centers around the Rio Grande Reclamation Project, and after several attempts to dismiss water adjudications in state court, the United Stat...