Public Lands for the People, Inc. v. United States Department of Agriculture
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision dismissing gold miners' suit against the U.S. Forest Service challenging its decision to limit the use of motor vehicles to certain roads in the El Dorado National Forest. The miners have standing to pursue their claim. At least some of the miners ha...
Native Ecosystems Council v. Weldon
The Ninth Circuit held that the U.S. Forest Service complied with NEPA and the NFMA when it approved a fuels reduction project in the Lewis and Clark National Forest. The project involves understory thinning and burning to mitigate the risk of wildfire in the Middle Fork Judith Wilderness Study Area...
Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Corp.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision dismissing an Eskimo village's nuisance claim against multiple oil, energy, and utility companies for their alleged contribution to climate change. The village claimed that the companies are responsible for a substantial portion of the greenhouse gas...
Earth Island Institute v. United States Forest Service
The Ninth Circuit held that the U.S. Forest Service's Angora Fire Restoration Project in the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) complies with the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) and NEPA. Environmental groups argued that the NMFA required the Forest Service to demonstrate at the project ...