A district court granted in part and denied in part summary judgment for environmental groups in a challenge to FWS' 2020 revised 12-month finding on a petition to list the Upper Missouri River distinct population segment of arctic grayling. The groups argued FWS failed to analyze the adequacy of ex...

A district court adopted in part, modified in part, and rejected in part a magistrate judge's findings and recommendations in a challenge to FWS' biological opinion (BiOp) for Flathead National Forest's 2018 revised land management plan. Environmental groups argued FWS and the Forest Service violate...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court's permanent injunction in an ESA citizen suit concerning a proposed timber harvesting project on private property in Oregon. Environmental groups argued the project would cause a "take" of marbled murrelets in violation of the ESA by clearing acres of tree...

In an unpublished per curiam judgment, the D.C. Circuit affirmed summary judgment for NMFS in a challenge to the Service's 2019 rule regarding turtle excluder devices. Environmental groups argued the final rule was not adequately explained, that it was not a logical outgrowth of the proposed rule th...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court ruling in favor of the Bureau of Reclamation and FWS in a challenge to the agencies' renewal of water supply contracts in California. Environmental groups argued that FWS conducted an inadequate consultation on the effects of the renewals on delta smelt an...

A district court granted summary judgment for a fisheries biologist in a challenge to the Army Corps of Engineers' flood control operations at a California dam. The biologist argued the operations, which released water from the dam into the Russian River, violated §9 of the ESA by unlawfully "takin...

A district court granted in part and denied in part summary judgment for a conservation group in a challenge to NMFS' management of the Pacific sardine under the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) and NEPA. The group argued NMFS' plan to rebuild the sardine population after it was declared overfished in 201...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part a district court's preliminary injunction limiting wolf trapping and snaring in certain parts of Montana to January 1, 2024, through February 15, 2024. Nonprofit groups argued Montana's laws authorizing recreational wolf and coyote trapping and ...

A district court granted in part and denied in part animal rights groups' motion for summary judgment in a challenge to BLM's recent roundup of wild horses at the Pancake Complex in eastern Nevada. The groups argued BLM violated the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (WHA) by failing to approve...

A district court granted in part and denied in part summary judgment for an animal rights group in a lawsuit concerning BLM's adoption of four 10-year management plans for controlling wild horse populations in certain herd management areas. The group argued BLM exceeded its statutory authority under...