ELR Citation: 56 ELR 20074
No(s). 1:25-cv-00086-AKB (D. Idaho May 29, 2026) (Brailsford, J.)

A district court denied environmental groups' motion for a preliminary injunction in a challenge to FWS' and the Forest Service's decisions concerning a gold mine project on lands in the Boise and Payette National Forests. The groups sought to enjoin activities authorized by the record of decision (ROD), biological opinion (BiOp), and incidental take statements (ITSs) on the lands. The groups argued the final EIS and ROD should be reversed because the Service erred in approving the project's off-site infrastructure including construction of a road to access the mine, that approval of the road violated the Idaho Roadless Rule, and that the "borrow sites" approved along the road were actually gravel mines that required approval under regulations implementing the Materials Act. The groups also argued the BiOp violated the ESA, including its jeopardy analyses and ITSs for wolverine, bull trout, and whitebark pine. The court found the groups were likely to succeed on their challenges to the wolverine and bull trout ITSs, but did not make a clear showing that the project's activities were likely to cause irreparable harm. It denied the motion for preliminary injunction.