A district court denied summary judgment for a company that owns and manages Iowa farmland in a lawsuit concerning a federal wetland conservation law known as Swampbuster. The company challenged the program, which disqualifies one from receiving USDA farm benefits if they convert certified wetl...

The Tenth Circuit reversed a district court decision denying a challenge to the Forest Service's decision to open new domestic sheep grazing allotments in Rio Grande National Forest. An environmental group argued the allotments posed a high risk to local populations of Rocky Mountain bigho...

The Fifth Circuit, 2-1, reversed a district court's summary judgment for the State Department in a FOIA lawsuit seeking records related to the Department's efforts to support the 2030 emissions reduction target in the Paris Agreement. A nonprofit group submitted a 10-part FOIA request, seeking ...

A district court granted a conservation group's motion to preliminarily enjoin BLM from authorizing grazing in approximately 22,000 acres of land located in key research natural areas (RNAs) that were made unavailable to grazing in BLM's 2015 conservation plan for greater sage-grouse in Oregon....

The Fifth Circuit reversed a district court's dismissal of a discrimination challenge brought against St. James Parish in Louisiana. Two faith- and community-based groups argued the Parish had discriminated against them by directing hazardous industrial facility development toward majority-Black dis...

Tribal groups argued NMFS violated NEPA in adopting the harvest specifications because they relied on outdated EISs despite dramatic changes to the ecosystem that necessitated an updated environmental analysis. The court found the specifications were not arbitrary and capricious because NMFS conclud...

A district court granted the Army Corps of Engineers' motion to dismiss a developer's challenge to the Corps' 2012 jurisdictional determination over certain wetlands in Virginia. The developer challenged the Corps' significant nexus finding between the wetlands and the Northwest River, arguing the s...

A district court granted summary judgment for a number of states in a challenge to a 2024 CEQ rule that revised regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA, including amendments in the Fiscal Responsibility Act. The states argued the rule violated NEPA and the APA by exceeding CEQ...

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) in a challenge to regulations promulgated by the Commission that restricted where and how Florida-registered fishing vessels could harvest Florida pompano in federal waters in the Gulf of Mex...

A district court granted the Biden Administration's motion to dismiss a challenge to the president's 2023 designation of Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni—Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. The Arizona state legislature, a cattle rancher, and other plaintiffs argued Proclamatio...