Alaska v. Bernhardt
A district court granted in part summary judgment for DOI in a challenge to a 2016 FWS rule that prohibited certain hunting activities in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. The state of Alaska and a hunting group first challenged the Service's determination that the rule fell within a categorical e...
Alliance for the Wild Rockies v. Burman
A district court dismissed a challenge to the Bureau of Reclamation's alleged ongoing, unpermitted take of bull trout through operation of an irrigation project near Glacier National Park. An environmental group argued that the Bureau's water control and delivery structures in the St. Mary River dra...
Institute for Fisheries Resources v. United States Food and Drug Administration
A district court granted in part and denied in part advocacy and industry groups' motion for summary judgment in a challenge to FDA's decision to allow a company to create and farm genetically engineered salmon. The groups argued that FDA violated NEPA by failing to take a sufficiently "hard look" a...
The Public Trust in Wildlife: Closing the Implementation Gap in 13 Western States
State wildlife agencies commonly claim they are entitled to manage wildlife under the public trust doctrine (PTD). This assertion is frequently made in judicial proceedings, with state requests that their managerial authority be given due force throughout state, private, federal, and even tribal lands. One might conclude that a rich body of PTD practices and policies exists for wildlife; in reality, the PTD in state wildlife management proves to be ephemeral.