The court holds that the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) does not violate the Free Exercise or Establishment Clauses of the U.S. Constitution and, therefore, affirmed an individual's conviction for possessing eagle feathers without a permit. The BGEPA prohibits the taking or possession ...

The court holds that the take provision of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), as applied to landowners, does not violate the U.S. Commerce Clause. After purchasing property, the landowners sought to develop it, but were prevented from doing so because of the restrictions placed on the land under the ...

The court holds that the Endangered Species Act's (ESA's) application to private lands in order to protect an endangered species that lives entirely within one state does not violate the U.S. Commerce Clause. The court first holds that the regulated activity in question—construction of a housing d...

The court upholds the reversal of a trial court's grant of judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) in favor of a chemical manufacturer that was denied insurance coverage for soil, groundwater, and surface water pollution at one of its sites. Shortly after purchasing the site in 1964, the manufac...

The court holds that the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) may require applicants for land allotments under the Alaska Native Allotment Act (ANAA) to prove personal use and occupancy independent of immediate family members prior to withdrawal of the land from the public domain. The IBLA denied t...

The court holds that a Pennsylvania township and its supervisors did not violate a developer's substantive due process rights by conspiring to delay and obstruct the developer's construction of an industrial park. The developer claims that the township and its supervisors conspired to delay the coun...

The court holds that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner by issuing incidental take statements imposing terms and conditions on grazing permits sought by a cattle growers' association where there was either no evidence that the endangered species exis...

The court grants environmental groups' motion to preliminarily enjoin the U.S. Forest Service from implementing a salvage project in the Bitterroot National Forest until any administrative appeals have been resolved pursuant to the Appeals Reform Act. After the final environmental impact statement f...

The court holds that a non-cumulation clause in a manufacturer's insurance policy applied to its claims resulting from environmental property damage. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and potentially responsible parties at a waste site sued the manufacturer for damages related to the transpor...

The court holds that an Arizona district court erred in determining that it lacked jurisdiction to hear a quiet title action concerning land along the Colorado River and in fixing title to the land on the basis of river movements that occurred prior to 1905 when the United States patented the disput...