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Orutsararmuit Native Council v. United States Army Corps of Engineers

The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part summary judgment for BLM in challenges to approval of an oil and gas project in the northern Arctic. Environmental groups argued BLM failed to consider a reasonable range of alternatives as required under NEPA, its mandate to protect surface re...

Center for Biological Diversity v. United States Bureau of Land Management

The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part summary judgment for BLM in challenges to approval of an oil and gas project in the northern Arctic. Environmental groups argued BLM failed to consider a reasonable range of alternatives as required under NEPA, its mandate to protect surface re...

CTM Holdings, LLC v. United States Department of Agriculture

A district court denied summary judgment for a company that owns and manages Iowa farmland in a lawsuit concerning a federal wetland conservation law known as Swampbuster. The company challenged the program, which disqualifies one from receiving USDA farm benefits if they convert certified wetl...

Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado

The U.S. Supreme Court, 8-0, held that the D.C. Circuit failed to afford the Surface Transportation Board the substantial deference NEPA requires in a challenge to the Board's authorization of a new 88-mile rail line in the Uinta Basin, and that the court incorrectly interpreted NEPA to require the ...

A Treaty Right to Healthy Forests? Using Tribal Fishing Rights to Challenge Timber Sales

Tribes in the Pacific Northwest have faced persistent obstacles to their exercise of treaty fishing rights, most prominently illegal regulation of off-reservation fishing by state governments. As salmon decline, a new frontier is emerging for treaty right violations: environmental degradation. A recent court victory ruled that a series of culverts owned and operated by the state of Washington violated tribal treaty rights to fish for salmonids at their “usual and accustomed” places.

Public Playgrounds or Private Trusts? The Future of Recreation on State Trust Lands

State trust lands, covering more than 40 million acres across the West, were granted to states with the primary purpose of generating revenue for public schools and other designated beneficiaries. These lands were historically managed for extractive uses such as grazing, timber harvesting, and mineral development. This Article examines how recreation—ranging from hiking and hunting to wildlife viewing and camping—fits within this fiduciary framework.

North Cascades Conservation Council v. United States Forest Service

The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part summary judgment for the Forest Service in a challenge to approval of a forest thinning project in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. A conservation group argued the Service was required under NEPA to repeat the public comment process after a ...