A district court granted FWS' motion for voluntary remand in a challenge to its 2020 decision to withdraw a 2013 proposed rule to list the wolverine as a threatened distinct population segment (DPS) in the contiguous United States under the ESA. Environmental groups argued the withdrawal was based o...
A district court granted summary judgment for environmental groups in a challenge to FWS' 2020 withdrawal of its 2013 proposal to list the bi-state sage-grouse as a threatened species under the ESA, and vacated the withdrawal. The groups argued the withdrawal violated the ESA because the Service's d...
The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the National Park Service (NPS) in a challenge to the Service's authority to prohibit commercial herring fishing in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA). A fishing group argued that NPS lacked authority under the GGNRA Act to enforce the co...
The Tenth Circuit affirmed dismissal of ranching groups' challenge to FWS' designation of critical habitat for the endangered New Mexico meadow jumping mouse. The groups argued FWS' methodology for analyzing economic impacts of the designation violated the ESA and court precedent, that the Service f...
A district court granted in part and denied in part conservation groups' motion for summary judgment in a challenge to NMFS' 2019 decision not to list the alewife and blueback herring as threatened under the ESA. The groups argued that NMFS failed to adequately account for climate change-related har...
The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for FWS in a challenge to its barred owl removal experiment, which was designed to protect the threatened northern spotted owl. Environmental groups argued FWS violated the ESA by issuing a permit that failed to provide a "net conservation benefit," and NE...
A district court denied summary judgment for a class of Gulf of Mexico for-hire charter boat owners and operators in a challenge to NMFS' 2020 rule requiring them to submit electronic fishing reports and use GPS tracking systems for all fishing trips. Plaintiffs argued NMFS violated the APA's notice...
The Tana River in northernmost Norway is the most diverse Atlantic salmon river in the world. Its native salmon population has declined dramatically and resulted in a fishing ban that has affected indigenous life and distressed the local economy. Concern is mounting over the secondary infestation of Pacific pink salmon, transplanted decades ago, which creates a potential threat to the river’s genetic diversity and challenges the regime structures of international fisheries.
A district court vacated and remanded FWS’ 2020 rule that removed the gray wolf from the ESA list of endangered and threatened wildlife. Environmental groups argued FWS violated the ESA by failing to analyze gray wolves across the entire lower 48 states and based its delisting decision on the purp...
A district court denied advocacy groups' motion to preliminarily enjoin BLM's gather of wild horses in eastern Nevada. The groups argued BLM violated the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act by not developing a herd management area plan, which resulted in an inhumane gather process; violated NEPA...