The Tenth Circuit reversed and remanded a lower court decision dismissing a Native American tribe member's indictment for shooting an eagle without a permit in violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Act. The lower court ruled that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act precluded the government from p...

The D.C. Circuit affirmed a lower court decision upholding NOAA-Fisheries' denial of an emergency rulemaking petition concerning the protection of the North Atlantic right whale, but remanded its dismissal of claims concerning the U.S. Coast Guard's failure to consider the impact of some of its acti...

The court affirms a district court's orders denying environmental groups' motions to enjoin timber sales as violative of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (WSRA) and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). The court first holds that the district court properly denied the environmental groups' motions to ...

The court upholds the U.S. Forest Service's approval of four timber sales in the Ozark National Forest. A coalition of environmental groups sued the Forest Service to enjoin or set aside the timber sales. The court first holds that the district court did not abuse its discretion by limiting its revi...

The Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court order enjoining the future planting of disputed genetically engineered alfalfa seed pending the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's completion of an enivironmental impact statement. The district court applied the traditional balancing test, and no...

A district court set aside the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS') decision not to designate critical habitat or to prepare a recovery plan for the jaguar. The FWS' critical habitat designation determination was not based on the best scientific evidence available and was inconsistent with the st...

The court holds that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS') decision not to designate critical habitat for the stickleback is not arbitrary and capricious, and that the FWS is not required to ensure compliance with federal and state laws before issuing an incidental take statement to a company ...

The court rejects landowners' request for a declaratory judgment challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS') determination that their land could not legally be used for goose hunting. FWS regulations prohibit the taking of migratory birds by the aid of baiting or on or over any baited ar...

The court holds that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) and its implementing regulations do not preempt Arkansas regulations governing captive-reared mallard ducks. Captive-bred ducks do not fall within the MBTA's scope of federal permitting requirements, and nothing in the MBTA prohibits a state ...

The court affirmed a lower court decision denying a motion for preliminary injunction that would require the protection of mute swans under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The Act, which implements the migratory bird conventions, makes it unlawful to hunt or kill migratory birds native to the United ...