The D.C. Circuit held that FWS did not violate the ESA by removing the West Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel from the list of endangered species even though several criteria in the agency's recovery plan for the species had not been satisfied. The FWS Secretary reasonably interpreted the ESA as not...

The Ninth Circuit upheld FWS regulations issued under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) that authorize the incidental take of polar bears and Pacific walruses resulting from oil and gas exploration activities in the Chukchi Sea and on the adjacent coast of Alaska. MMPA §101(a)(5)(A) requires ...

The First Circuit upheld an individual's conviction for illegally trafficking in sperm whale teeth and narwhal tusks in violation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). The individual argued that the lower court should have instructed the jury...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part a lower court decision dismissing an environmental group's lawsuit challenging the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's annual operating plans for the Glen Canyon Dam along the Colorado River under NEPA, the ESA, and the APA. The group was concerned about the dam's impact ...

A district court dismissed environmental groups' lawsuits challenging BLM's decision to authorize the leasing of certain public lands in northeastern Wyoming for coal mining operations. The groups, who claim that BLM failed to prepare an adequate EIS before authorizing the leasing of the tracts at i...

A district court denied environmental groups' motion to preliminarily enjoin the construction of segments of the Keystone XL pipeline. After an oil company's original request to complete the Keystone XL pipeline was denied by President Obama in 2011, the company sought to divide its original interco...

The Ninth Circuit held that the U.S. Forest Service's EIS for a forest thinning research project in the Pringle Falls Experimental Forest within the Deschutes National Forest complies with NEPA. The project allows logging and controlled burning on roughly 2,500 acres of the Forest to reduce the risk...