The court reversed a grant of summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) concerning the listing of the Sierra Nevada Mountain yellow-legged frog under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The agency determined that listing the frog as an endangered species was “warrante...

The court denied in part and granted in part environmental groups’ petition for review of three sets of regulations promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) governing how states are to bring their transportation plans into conformity with the requirements of the Clean Air ...

The court, in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Rapanos v. United States, 126 S. Ct. 2208, 36 ELR 20116 (2006), remanded a lower court's summary judgment in favor of the U.S. government in a case involving the discharge of dredge or fill material. In Rapanos, the Court failed to reach a ...

The court holds that the U.S. Forest Service's issuance of annual operating instructions to permittees who graze livestock on national forest land constitutes final agency action for purposes of judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act. The annual operating instructions are a discrete,...

A district court holds that the U.S. Forest Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) when it repealed the nationally uniform "roadless area conservation rule" and replaced it with a less protective "state petitions rule." The roadless rule pr...

The court affirms a lower court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Forest Service in a case involving property owners' right-of-access over a road in the Sitgreaves National Forest. In lieu of a special use permit, the Forest Service offered the property owners a 30-year private road e...

The court upholds the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) evaluation of environmental and historic preservation impacts of a revitalization project in New Orleans. In issuing a finding of no significant impact and environmental assessment in lieu of an environmental impact statemen...

A district court issues a permanent injunction ordering the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate shipping vessel discharges under the Clean Water Act (CWA) by September 30, 2008. In a previous decision, the court ruled that a 30-year regulation that exempts all effluent discharges ...

A district court partially overturns U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries (the Services) "counterpart regulations" concerning consultation between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Services on the effects of pe...

The court upholds the dismissal of property owners' claims against the National Park Service (NPS) concerning the use of an abandoned road crossing federally protected land to access their property within the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska. The property owners sought an inju...