Weekly Cases Update Volume 43, Issue 5

The cases listed below appear in the most recent issue of ELR's Weekly Update. For cases previously reported, please use the filter on the left.

Volume 43, Issue 7

In re Polar Bear Endangered Species Act Listing
ELR 2005011-5219(D.C. Cir., )

The D.C. Circuit affirmed a lower court decision upholding FWS' listing of the polar bear as threatened under the ESA, in part due to the effects of global climate change.

Keywords:
Wildlife
Quechan Tribe of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation v. United States Department of the Interior
ELR 2004712cv1167-GPC(S.D. Cal., )

A district court upheld BLM's approval of a record of decision (ROD) allowing the construction of 112 wind turbines in an area that contains cultural and biological significance to a Native American tribe.

Keywords:
Energy (generally), Cultural resources, Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), Cumulative impacts
Desert Protective Council v. United States Department of the Interior
ELR 2004812cv1281(S.D. Cal., )

A district court upheld BLM's approval of a record of decision (ROD) and its grant of a right of way (ROW) allowing the construction of a utility-scale wind project in California's Sonoran Desert. Conservation groups challenged BLM's actions under NEPA and FLPMA.

Keywords:
Energy (generally), Rights-of-way, Discussion of, held adequate
Muwekma Ohlone Tribe v. Salazar
ELR 2004611-5328(D.C. Cir., )

The D.C. Circuit upheld DOI's decision not to grant the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe's petition to be recognized as an Indian tribe. Muwekma is a group of American Indians from the San Francisco Bay area.

Keywords:
Indian Reorganization Act