The court holds unlawful a U.S. Department of Commerce fishing quota that allocates the summer catch of scup on a state-by-state basis for Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island. Massachusetts argued that the quota was based on incomplete historical data that reflected only scup landings from lar...

The court affirms a district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), finding that its denial of Connecticut's petition for rulemaking under the Magnuson-Stevens Act was not arbitrary or capricious and was consistent with all relevant law. Connecticut soug...

The court holds that Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity bars an environmental group's suit against a state environmental agency challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's grant of a migratory bird depredation permit to the state agency. The court first holds that the state environmental age...

The court holds that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) violated Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) §703 when, without a permit from the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), it killed Canada geese during the implementation of its integrated goose management plan. The court first holds that M...

The court affirms a district court denial of summary judgment to a building industry association challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS') listing of four species of fairy shrimp that live in vernal pools in California as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)....

The court holds that the U.S. Department of the Interior's (DOI's) decision to withdraw a proposed rule recommending the flat-tailed horned lizard for protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was arbitrary and capricious. The lizard was identified as a candidate for listing under the ESA in...

The court affirms a district court decision rejecting an environmental group's claims for attorney fees in connection with their lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) in which they sought the listing of the Arkansas River shiner as an endangered or threatened species under the En...

The court affirms a district court denial of an environmental group's motion for a preliminary injunction to stay the U.S. Department of the Navy's exercises on the island of Vieques near Puerto Rico. The group alleged that the Navy violated certain Endangered Species Act (ESA) §7 procedural requir...

The court affirms a district court dismissal of a commercial fisherman association's challenge to a fishery management plan (FMP) regulation, known as Framework 25, that instituted year-round closure of a fishing area and required rolling closures of inshore ports along the Gulf of Maine. The New En...

The court holds that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Buckhannon Board & Care Home, Inc. v. West Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources, 532 U.S. 598 (2001), did not prohibit the use of the catalyst test as a basis for awarding attorney fees and costs under the Endangered Specie...