A district court, in a 100+-page opinion, vacated an FWS rule removing the western Great Lakes distinct population segment (DPS) of gray wolves from the ESA’s list of protected species and ordered the agency to reinstate immediately the protections for gray wolves in the affected area as these pro...

A district court refused to vacate a biological opinion issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in which it determined that the operation of the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery would not jeopardize the continued existence of the Northwest Atlantic population segment of loggerhead sea tur...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision granting summary judgment in favor of the federal government on claims that it violated ESA, NEPA, and National Forest Management Act in connection with its approval of a lumber thinning and fuel reduction project in northern California. An environme...

The Fifth Circuit denied a motion to rehear its earlier decision that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) did not cause the unlawful take of endangered whooping cranes in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in violation of ESA §9. All but 4 of the 15 circuit court judges voted aga...

The North Dakota Supreme Court upheld an administrative law judge's (ALJ's) award of benefits in the death of an oil-tank worker. According to the medical examiner's report, the worker died from hydrocarbon poisoning due to the inhalation of petroleum vapors from oil storage tanks. His employer argu...

The U.S. Supreme Court held that a district court erred in remanding to state court landowners' class action lawsuit seeking compensation for damages they sustained when an energy company allegedly underpaid royalties due under certain oil and gas leases. The lawsuit was originally filed in state co...