A district court found that the National Park Service (NPS) took a “hard look” at environmental impacts when it approved an oil and gas company's seismic survey in a Florida nature preserve. The oil and gas company requested that NPS allow it to conduct seismic tests in the Big Cypress National ...

The D.C. Circuit ruled that a trade association composed of lumber companies had standing to challenge an FWS designation of critical habitat for the northern spotted owl on federal land in California, Oregon, and Washington. In 2012, FWS issued a final rule designating 9.5 million acres of federal ...

The Eleventh Circuit held that the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA's) approval of a new bridge in Port St. Lucie, Florida, was not arbitrary or capricious despite claims by environmental groups. The groups claimed that FHWA abused its discretion in not selecting their proffered alternative pa...

The Federal Circuit affirmed in part and remanded in part a lower court decision dismissing a helium extraction company's breach of contract claims against the United States. In 1994, the parties entered a contract under which BLM gave the company the right to extract helium gas from roughly 21,000 ...

The Eleventh Circuit upheld the National Park Service's (NPS') wilderness assessment and management plan for the addition of approximately 112,400 acres of land to the Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida, including its decision to allow off-road vehicle (ORV) use on the added land. Environmenta...

A district court held that BLM failed to take a "hard look" at the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing with regard to the agency's resource management plan (RMP) for public lands in California's central region. Under the resource management plan, 25% of new wells are expected to use hydraul...

The Ninth Circuit upheld BLM's proposal to expand access for off-road vehicle use in the Imperial Sand Dunes Special Recreation Management Area. The Dunes, located in California, are home to two threatened species: the desert tortoise and the Peirson's milkvetch. Under the proposed plan, a 26,098-ac...

A district court held that the U.S. Forest Service violated NEPA, the Wilderness Act, and the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) in connection with its decision to allow drilling, road reconstruction, and the use of motorized vehicles and heavy equipment at the Golden Hand Mine in the Frank Churc...

A district court held that the U.S. Forest Service violated NEPA in connection with its approval of the "CuMo" project, a five-year mining exploration project located within the Boise National Forest in Idaho. The Forest Service failed to take a hard look at the project's impacts on the Sacajawea’...

The D.C. Circuit, in an unpublished opinion, upheld an Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) decision invalidating an individual's mining claims on federal land in Oregon. DOI made those determinations so that the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, which was considering takings claims by the individual, ...