A state appellate court reversed the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' decisions to deny petitions for a contested-case hearing and issue mine and dam safety permits for a proposed copper-nickel-platinum mine in northeastern Minnesota. Environmental groups petitioned the Department for a he...

The D.C. Circuit held that USDA's failure to issue animal welfare standards to protect birds pursuant to the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) violated the APA. Animal rights groups argued that USDA's longstanding failure to promulgate standards for birds was arbitrary and capricious, and sought to compel th...

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The Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for NPS in a lawsuit concerning acceptable activities on land acquired by Wisconsin through the Federal Land to Parks Program for recreational use. An environmental group argued that NPS' approval of three activities at the park—dog training, off-road ...

The D.C. Circuit affirmed a district court decision that upheld President Barack Obama's 2016 proclamation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off the New England coast. Commercial fishing associations argued the monument exceeded the president's authority under the Antiq...

A district court denied environmental groups' motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit concerning the Forest Service's plan for harvesting timber on 2,500 acres in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest. The groups argued that the Service exceeded its statutory authority under the Healthy Forest R...

In an unpublished opinion, a state appellate court reversed a lower court decision that ordered a Michigan township to issue a zoning permit to a food and beverage company to construct a well pumping station on agricultural land. The lower court had concluded that the company's proposed pumping stat...

A district court granted summary judgment to timber industry groups in a challenge to President Obama's designation of approximately 40,000 acres of federal timber land (O&C land) as part of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. The groups argued that the proclamation violated the Oregon and C...

In an unpublished opinion, the Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and remanded in part a district court order that lifted an injunction on a logging project in the Kootenai National Forest. Environmental groups sought to enjoin the project again, arguing that the Forest Service's analysis of the project...

A state high court reversed a lower court decision in a lawsuit over a hog farmer's application for a special zoning exception to construct a livestock manure storage facility. The farmer argued that a a local zoning ordinance setting forth criteria that must be met to obtain approval for the facili...