Maine Lobstermen's Ass'n, Inc. v. National Marine Fisheries Service
A district court denied summary judgment for a Maine lobstermen group in a challenge to NMFS' 2021 biological opinion (BiOp) that both authorized a series of federal fisheries, including the lobster fishery, and implemented a conservation framework designed to reduce the fisheries' impact on right w...
Friends of Animals v. Williams
A district court remanded a lawsuit challenging FWS’ decision to downgrade a rare species of parrot from endangered to threatened and to issue a §4(d) rule under the ESA allowing for limited import and export of the bird without an ESA permit. An animal advocacy group sought vacatur, arguing FWS�...
Cascadia Wildlands v. Scott Timber Co.
A district court on remand granted environmental groups' request for a permanent injunction in an ESA citizen suit concerning a logging project on private land in Oregon. In initial proceedings, the groups sought a preliminary injunction, arguing the project would result in the taking of marbled mur...
Waterkeeper Alliance, Inc. v. Regan
The D.C. Circuit vacated a district court's grant of summary judgment to EPA in a challenge to the Agency's approval of a permitting program for coal ash disposal facilities in Oklahoma. Environmental groups challenged EPA’s approval on several grounds under RCRA and the APA, and the district cour...
Rocky Mountain Peace & Justice Center v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The Tenth Circuit affirmed dismissal of a challenge to FWS' 2018 decision to modify certain trails in the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge. Community groups argued the modifications were significant and that FWS failed to prepare a supplemental EIS and relied on categorical exclusions based on a...
Center for Biological Diversity v. Raimondo
A district court granted summary judgment for conservation groups in a challenge to NMFS' 2021 issuance of a biological opinion (BiOp) and final rule concerning lobster fishing gear requirements and the endangered North Atlantic right whale. The groups argued the BiOp violated the ESA by allowing fo...
District 4 Lodge of the International Ass'n of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 207 v. Raimondo
The First Circuit vacated a district court order preliminarily enjoining NOAA's partial seasonal closure of a Maine lobster fishery to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales. A fishing union argued the closure was an arbitrary and capricious application of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, a...
American Forest Resource Council v. Williams
A district court dismissed a challenge to FWS rules delaying the effective date of a January 2021 rule that designated portions of Washington, Oregon, and California as critical habitat for the northern spotted owl. A trade group and counties throughout the Pacific Northwest sought to vacate the "de...