The court denies environmental groups' motion to reopen a previous action and dismisses the groups' current action against the federal government in which the groups allege that the U.S. Navy violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and the Marine Mamm...

The court holds that environmental groups are entitled to an award of attorney fees under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in connection with their lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) for failing to timely publish final rules for one endangered butterfly and five endangered pla...

The court upholds all but one of the U.S. Department of Commerce's regulations implementing the final 1999 highly migratory species fishery management plan. The court first holds that three of the regulations, which place limits on the amount of Atlantic bluefin tuna that can be caught and kept per ...

The court holds that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) acted arbitrarily and capriciously in concluding that proposed timber sales were not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the Umpqua River cutthroat trout and the Oregon Coast coho salmon. The court first holds that the tri...

The court affirms a district court dismissal of an environmental group's suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for failing to reinitiate consultation regarding an incidental take permit issued to a timber company under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The incidental take permit allo...

The court holds that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) adequately assessed whether implementation of a bottomfish fishery management plan (FMP) for the Northwest Hawaiian Islands would jeopardize the continued existence of the endangered monk seal. The district court originally held that ...

The court denies environmental groups' motion for a preliminary injunction requiring the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' management of a Florida water project to comply with certain provisions of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)-issued reasonable and prudent alternative (RPA) that would allegedl...

The court dismisses on motions for summary judgment a fishing association's claims against the Secretary of Commerce challenging the National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS') 2001 summer flounder quotas and summer flounder fishery management plan (FMP) regulations. The court first holds that the a...

The court reverses a district court decision and holds that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) does not have discretion under Endangered Species Act (ESA) §4 to make an initial determination to list a petitioned species beyond the ESA's 12-month deadline for making final determinations. The c...

The court holds that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's (FWS') decision that the westlope cutthroat trout (WCT) did not warrant listing as an endangered or threatened species was arbitrary and capricious. The FWS concluded that listing the WCT under the Endangered Species Act was unwarranted because viabl...