The court holds that the Secretary of Commerce complied with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act in setting commercial harvest quotas for Atlantic sharks in its fishery management plan (FMP) for 1997, but violated the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) in determining that the ...

The court affirms a district court's decision that an environmental group, alleging that the management of Lake Mead was jeopardizing the continued existence of the southwestern willow flycatcher, failed to provide the requisite notice to invoke subject matter jurisdiction under the Endangered Speci...

The court holds that the Bureau of Reclamation violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by renewing water supply contracts with several water districts in California before consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The districts rely ...

The court holds that a Florida county's Endangered Species Act (ESA) §10 incidental take permit does not authorize it to take protected sea turtles through purely mitigatory measures associated with artificial beachfront lighting. The court first holds that the county lacks the U.S. Fish and Wildli...

The court holds that the Secretary of the Interior violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by failing to designate critical habitat for the silvery minnow. The Secretary claimed that he could not complete the minnow's critical habitat designation due to fiscal limitations imposed by Congress. The ...

The court denies a state's motion to stay a decision that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) improperly decided that the evolutionary significant unit of coho salmon did not warrant listing as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The court first holds that the state...

The court holds that the National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS') decision not to list the Oregon Coast evolutionary significant unit (ESU) of coho salmon as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was arbitrary and capricious and was based on an erroneous legal standard. The court firs...

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...