The court holds that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) adequately assessed whether implementation of a bottomfish fishery management plan (FMP) for the Northwest Hawaiian Islands would jeopardize the continued existence of the endangered monk seal. The district court originally held that ...

The court denies environmental groups' motion for a preliminary injunction requiring the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' management of a Florida water project to comply with certain provisions of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)-issued reasonable and prudent alternative (RPA) that would allegedl...

The court holds that the U.S. Forest Service did not violate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) or the National Forest Management Act in its adoption of a grazing plan for the Fort Pierre National Grasslands in Nebraska. A grazing district challenged the Forest Service's plan, claiming tha...

The Sixth Circuit affirms a district court judgment upholding the Interior Board of Land Appeals' (IBLA's) decision that a mining company violated federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) regulations requiring the elimination of cliff-like rock walls known as "highwalls" at its sur...

The court dismisses on motions for summary judgment a fishing association's claims against the Secretary of Commerce challenging the National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS') 2001 summer flounder quotas and summer flounder fishery management plan (FMP) regulations. The court first holds that the a...

The court reverses a district court decision and holds that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) does not have discretion under Endangered Species Act (ESA) §4 to make an initial determination to list a petitioned species beyond the ESA's 12-month deadline for making final determinations. The c...

The court holds that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's (FWS') decision that the westlope cutthroat trout (WCT) did not warrant listing as an endangered or threatened species was arbitrary and capricious. The FWS concluded that listing the WCT under the Endangered Species Act was unwarranted because viabl...

The court affirms a district court decision denying residents' request to preliminarily enjoin a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (the Corps') permit allowing the use of federal waters and wetlands for construction of an electric-generating plant in Athens, New York, near the banks of the Hudson River....

The court holds that the citizen suit provision of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), §520(f), provides a federal cause of action for the recovery of damages resulting from violation of state regulations that are a part of the state's surface coal mining and reclamation regulat...

The court holds that the U.S. Forest Service implementation of interim resource conservation policies in nine national forests was not arbitrary or capricious and did not violate the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) or the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Forest Service developed i...