ELR Citation: 53 ELR 20044
No(s). 22-35097 (9th Cir. Mar 14, 2023)

The Ninth Circuit reversed in part and vacated in part a district court's decision in a challenge to the Federal Subsistence Board's 2020 approval of two short-term changes to hunting practices on federal land in Alaska—the opening of an emergency deer and moose hunt for a federally recognized tribe, and partial closure of public lands in a game management unit to nonsubsistence users. The state of Alaska sued, arguing the changes violated the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. Before the district court issued a decision, the hunt ended, and the court deemed the challenge moot. While the appeal was pending, the partial unit closure expired. The appellate court held the state's claim regarding the emergency hunt was not moot because it fit within the exception of being capable of repetition yet evading review; it reversed the district court's decision and remanded for further proceedings. But it vacated the part of the order that addressed the partial unit closure claim, and remanded with instructions to dismiss that claim as moot.