ELR Citation: 53 ELR 20148
No(s). 22-16483 (9th Cir. Sep 12, 2023)

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court's denial of a preliminary injunction to halt two projects to thin vegetation in Yosemite National Park in preparation for controlled burns. An environmental group had argued NPS violated NEPA by approving the projects without conducting a full review of their impacts, and moved for a preliminary injunction. The district court denied the motion, holding NPS had sufficiently evaluated the project's environmental impact. The appellate court affirmed, upholding the agency's determination that the project fell under the "minor-change" categorical exclusion because it adequately explained its conclusion that the modifications, which made changes to a 2004 fire management plan, would cause "no or only minimal environmental impact."