The court affirms a district court denial of summary judgment to a building industry association challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS') listing of four species of fairy shrimp that live in vernal pools in California as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)....

The court holds that the U.S. Department of the Interior's (DOI's) decision to withdraw a proposed rule recommending the flat-tailed horned lizard for protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was arbitrary and capricious. The lizard was identified as a candidate for listing under the ESA in...

The court affirms a district court decision rejecting an environmental group's claims for attorney fees in connection with their lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) in which they sought the listing of the Arkansas River shiner as an endangered or threatened species under the En...

The court affirms a district court denial of an environmental group's motion for a preliminary injunction to stay the U.S. Department of the Navy's exercises on the island of Vieques near Puerto Rico. The group alleged that the Navy violated certain Endangered Species Act (ESA) §7 procedural requir...

The court affirms a district court dismissal of a commercial fisherman association's challenge to a fishery management plan (FMP) regulation, known as Framework 25, that instituted year-round closure of a fishing area and required rolling closures of inshore ports along the Gulf of Maine. The New En...

The court holds that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Buckhannon Board & Care Home, Inc. v. West Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources, 532 U.S. 598 (2001), did not prohibit the use of the catalyst test as a basis for awarding attorney fees and costs under the Endangered Specie...

The court holds that the Secretary of Commerce's adoption of a fishery conservation amendment to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan does not violate the Magnuson Act or the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). The amendment sets annual allowable catch targets for regulated species, orch...

The court holds that the U.S. Forest Service policy of leaving game "baiting" regulation in the National Forest System to the states complies with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The court first holds that the adoption of the new policy is not a maj...

The court holds that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) did not violate Endangered Species Act (ESA) §4(b)(3)(A) when it relied on its 1997 listing priority guidance and failed to make a preliminary 90-day finding on a petition to list the Columbian sharp-tail grouse as endangered. In respons...

The court affirms a district court order lifting a temporary restraining order and denying environmental groups' motion to permanently enjoin the construction of a new school on property that allegedly contains potential habitat for the endangered cactus ferruginous pygmy owl. The court first holds ...