The Ninth Circuit held that the U.S. Forest Service exceeded the scope of its authority under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act by charging fees to those who drive to Mount Lemmon, park their cars, and then picnic, hike, or camp in nearby undeveloped areas. The Act authorizes the Forest S...

The D.C. Circuit held that a city has standing to challenge a railroad company's sale of a historic elevated railroad embankment to developers. The city argued that the sale was void because the company failed to obtain approval from the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to abandon the property...

A district court granted an environmental group's motion for reconsideration and overturned its previous decision upholding the DOI's "Counterpart ESA §7 Consultation Regulations" for National Fire Plan (NFP) projects. The government's rationale for proposing the rule in the first instance was ...

The Ninth Circuit reversed in part and affirmed in part a lower court decision that U.S. Forest Service complied with NEPA and the APA when it amended the Sierra Nevada forest plan in 2004. In stark contrast to the 2001 EIS, which contained a 64-page detailed analysis of the environmental conseq...

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The D.C. Circuit held that a home builders association lacked standing to challenge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' issuance of nationwide permit (NWP) 46, which allows persons to secure approval for qualifying discharges into "waters of the United States" without going through the more laborious ...

The D.C. Circuit held that a home builders' association lacked standing to challenge EPA's and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' determination that two reaches of the Santa Cruz River in southern Arizona constitute "traditional navigable waters" (TNW) under the CWA. Although the association has spen...

The Ninth Circuit remanded the U.S. Forest Service's 2006 travel management plan for the Gallatin National Forest. The Montana Wilderness Study Act of 1977 requires the Service to ensure that current users of a wilderness study area are able to enjoy the wilderness character of the area as it existe...

The court holds that a district court did not have jurisdiction to review a dispute about language in a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) consent decree approving a proposed cleanup plan. The plan was proposed by a company that abandoned an acrosol can facility following an explosion and a ...

The court denies a petition to review the Bonneville Power Administration's (BPA's) record of decision (ROD) regarding the operations of the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS). The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) concluded that under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), continued oper...