A district court denied summary judgment for a citizen group in a challenge to NMFS' issuance of incidental harassment authorizations (IHAs) and a letter of authorization (LOA) to wind developers off the coast of New York and New Jersey. The group argued the IHAs and LOA, which authorize take o...
A district court granted summary judgment for an environmental group in a challenge to FWS' 2023 12-month finding that Joshua trees were not warranted for listing under the ESA for the "foreseeable future." The group argued FWS violated the ESA because it failed to use best available science, i...
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...
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....
A district court granted summary judgment for landowners and a coalition of counties in a challenge to FWS' issuance of an ESA Section 4(d) Rule alongside its listing of the northern distinct population of lesser prairie-chicken as a threatened species. Plaintiffs argued FWS should have considered e...
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed dismissal of aviculturalist groups' lawsuit challenging FWS' denial of their petition to add two parrot species to the list of species approved for import under the Wild Exotic Bird Conservation Act. The groups had petitioned FWS to add members of the cactus conure and ...
A district court granted in part summary judgment for an environmental group in a lawsuit concerning ESA §7 consultations on six pesticides. The group argued FWS violated the ESA by unreasonably delaying completion of consultations on chlorpyrifos, diazinon, carbaryl, methomyl, atrazine, and simazi...
A district court granted in part and denied in part summary judgment for an environmental group in a challenge to NMFS' denial of the group's petition to promulgate ESA §4(d) regulations for 20 coral species. The group had petitioned NMFS in response to the Service's inaction on its own findings in...
A district court vacated a 2022 instruction memorandum (IM) issued by BLM that outlined policies and procedures for administering an incentive program for adopting federally protected wild horses and burros. Animal rights groups challenged the IM, arguing it violated the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and...
The Fourth Circuit affirmed a district court's denial of a motion to temporarily enjoin construction on a real estate development project in South Carolina. Environmental groups argued the CWA §404 permit issued for the project violated the ESA by using a habitat surrogate to set the level of antic...