The D.C. Circuit reversed and remanded a lower court decision that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) complied with NEPA and that FWS complied with the ESA in connection with a wind energy project on Nantucket Sound. Environmental groups had filed suit against a number of agencies alleging...
A district court preliminarily enjoined FWS from releasing endangered Mexican wolves in New Mexico without first obtaining the necessary permits from the state's game and wildlife agency. New Mexico law requires all persons who import and release non-domesticated animals to obtain a permit before do...
The Ninth Circuit upheld BLM's decision to grant a right-of-way allowing a wind energy project to be built and operated on federal lands in southeast San Diego County. Community groups argued that BLM violated NEPA, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act i...
The Ninth Circuit held that BLM’s approval of a wind-energy development project in southeastern Oregon failed to adequately address impacts to the greater sage grouse in violation of NEPA. The challenged project entails the construction of wind turbines and a right-of-way across a sagebrush landsc...
A district court vacated two FWS depredation orders reauthorizing the killing of double-crested cormorants in certain states. The court previously held that FWS violated NEPA when it reissued the orders. At issue here was the remedy. FWS argued that remand without vacatur was appropriate, whereas pl...
A district court, in a 149-page opinion, held that the government violated the ESA and NEPA when it approved its 2014 biological opinion (BiOp) for the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) and its impact on salmon and steelhead. The FCRPS consists of hydroelectric dams, powerhouses, and assoc...
The Ninth Circuit held that FDA properly withheld certain information concerning egg-production farms in Texas that was requested by an animal rights group under FOIA. FOIA Exemption 4 applies to “trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confid...
A district court held that FWS violated NEPA when it reissued two orders authorizing the killing of double-crested cormorants in certain states. FWS issued an EA and FONSI for the orders rather than an EIS. But the EA is insufficient to justify FWS' FONSI because FWS did not take the requisite “ha...
A district court remanded a portion of FWS’ addendum to a 2007 biological opinion concerning the incidental take of grizzly bears in the Grand Teton National Park. In 2007, FWS and the National Park Service (NPS) issued a joint 15-year management plan for bison and elk herds that migrate across th...
A district court held that FWS violated the ESA when it decided not to list the wolverine as a threatened species. FWS proposed to list the wolverine in 2013, but then changed course in 2014 and withdrew the proposal; this lawsuit followed. The court ruled against the agency, holding that FWS erred ...