A district court granted a developer's motion to dismiss a challenge to the Army Corps of Engineers' decision to issue a CWA §404 permit for a proposed copper mine project in the Santa Rita Mountains. Environmental groups and Native American tribes argued that the Corps violated the CWA and NEPA wh...

The Tenth Circuit affirmed dismissal of a lawsuit concerning a long-running water dispute between an Indian tribe and a private landowner in Utah. The tribe sued the landowner in tribal court, arguing the landowner had been diverting the tribe's water for years. The tribal court held it had subject ...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for FWS in a challenge to its 2016 Kenai Rule, which banned baiting of brown bears in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and hunting of coyotes, lynx, and wolves in a specific wildlife recreation area. The state of Alaska and a hunting group argued the rul...

A district court denied environmental groups' motion for a temporary restraining order in a challenge to BLM's authorization of livestock grazing on pastures containing research natural areas (RNAs). The groups argued BLM's regulations required fencing to be installed to section off the RNAs so they...

A district court granted in part environmental groups' motion for summary judgment in a challenge to BLM's issuance of a 2018 instruction memorandum on greater sage grouse conservation and and subsequent oil and gas lease sales in Nevada and Wyoming. Environmental groups argued the lease sales confl...

The Ninth Circuit, 2-1, reversed a district court ruling that set aside a land exchange agreement between the Secretary of the Interior and an Alaska Native village company that wished to build a road through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge to allow access to a nearby city. The district court had h...

A district court denied summary judgment for landowners in Idaho who sought to halt construction of a public recreational trail across their ranch. The landowners argued the Forest Service violated the ESA by failing to complete §7 consultation with FWS; the CWA by failing to disclose the nature of...

The Eleventh Circuit vacated a district court's dismissal of a challenge to a developer's filling of a wetland near its hotel in southeastern Georgia. An individual and environmental groups argued the developer did not comply with the CWA's permitting process because it filled the wetland for the pu...

A district court denied two former EPA science advisors’ motion to preliminarily halt the activities of the Agency’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee. The advisors argued the committee violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act’s requirement that memberships be “fairly balanced” be...

A district court dismissed environmental groups’ challenge to the International Development Finance Corp’s (DFC’s) 2020 rule exempting itself from the Sunshine Act. The groups challenged the rule under the APA and the Sunshine Act itself, and sought an order declaring the DFC subject to the Su...