A district court held that an Idaho "ag-gag" law that criminalizes undercover investigations of agricultural production operations violates the U.S. Constitution. Under the law, a journalist or animal rights investigator can be convicted for not disclosing his media or political affiliations when re...

A California court denied an environmental group's motion to preliminarily enjoin emergency regulations governing the underground injection of wastewater produced by oil drilling. The emergency regulations establish a timeline for companies to stop injecting into certain wells, but it still gives so...

The Ninth Circuit reinstated application of the roadless rule to the Tongass National Forest in Alaska, holding that USDA violated the APA when it exempted the Forest from the rule. When USDA issued the roadless rule in 2001, it refused to exempt the Tongass National Forest from the rule, which bans...

A district court held that DOI has unreasonably delayed agency action in the agency's review of an oil and gas drilling permit on BLM lands in Montana held sacred to Native Americans. Under the APA, agencies must decide issues presented to them within a reasonable time. Here, BLM initially approved ...

A district court denied Alaska's request for a court order directing DOI to review the state's plan for the exploration of oil and gas resources in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). When Congress enacted the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) in 1980, it authorized th...