The Eleventh Circuit upheld the National Park Service's (NPS') wilderness assessment and management plan for the addition of approximately 112,400 acres of land to the Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida, including its decision to allow off-road vehicle (ORV) use on the added land. Environmenta...

The Ninth Circuit upheld BLM's proposal to expand access for off-road vehicle use in the Imperial Sand Dunes Special Recreation Management Area. The Dunes, located in California, are home to two threatened species: the desert tortoise and the Peirson's milkvetch. Under the proposed plan, a 26,098-ac...

The Ninth Circuit held that NMFS may collect cost recovery fees for the Pacific groundfish fishery from individual members of the Pacific whiting catcher-processing sector, but that NMFS’ calculation of the 2014 cost recovery fee for that sector was inconsistent with its own regulation. Under the ...

The Ninth Circuit upheld NMFS' 2013 quota regulations for Pacific whiting. NMFS calculated the amount of fish harvesters' and fish processors' initial share of the total allowable catch based on their participation in the fishery prior to 2003 and 2004, respectively. A fish harvester and fish proces...

The D.C. Circuit held that FWS violated NEPA when it issued an incidental take permit for the Indiana bat, an endangered species, in connection with a wind farm project in Ohio. Because the farm may pose a danger to the bat, the developer applied for an incidental take permit and submitted a conserv...

A district court held that the U.S. Forest Service violated NEPA in connection with its approval of the "CuMo" project, a five-year mining exploration project located within the Boise National Forest in Idaho. The Forest Service failed to take a hard look at the project's impacts on the Sacajawea’...

The Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded a lower court's dismissal of a lawsuit filed by commercial fishermen challenging FWS' decision to terminate the southern sea otter translocation program off the coast of California. Due to the threatened species' vulnerability to extinction from oil spills, en...

The D.C. Circuit reversed and remanded a lower court decision that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) complied with NEPA and that FWS complied with the ESA in connection with a wind energy project on Nantucket Sound. Environmental groups had filed suit against a number of agencies alleging...

A district court preliminarily enjoined FWS from releasing endangered Mexican wolves in New Mexico without first obtaining the necessary permits from the state's game and wildlife agency. New Mexico law requires all persons who import and release non-domesticated animals to obtain a permit before do...

The Ninth Circuit upheld BLM's decision to grant a right-of-way allowing a wind energy project to be built and operated on federal lands in southeast San Diego County. Community groups argued that BLM violated NEPA, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act i...