The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part a district court's preliminary injunction limiting wolf trapping and snaring in certain parts of Montana to January 1, 2024, through February 15, 2024. Nonprofit groups argued Montana's laws authorizing recreational wolf and coyote trapping and ...

A district court granted in part and denied in part summary judgment for environmental groups in a challenge to an Idaho law authorizing expanded authorization of recreational wolf trapping and snaring in the state's grizzly bear habitat. The groups argued Idaho's continued authorization and expansi...

A district court denied the state of Alaska's and North Slope Borough's challenge to NMFS' decision not to delist the Arctic ringed seal as an endangered species following their 2019 petition. The plaintiffs argued NMFS failed to credit new information from FWS' analysis, failed to credit the Interg...

A magistrate judge recommended summary judgment be granted in part and denied in part for environmental groups in a challenge to the Forest Service's 2018 revision to the forest management plan for Flathead National Forest. The groups argued the Forest Service and FWS failed to rationally consider t...

The Tenth Circuit affirmed dismissal of an environmental group's petition to review FWS' revised land management plan for the Rio Grande National Forest. The group argued FWS' biological opinion (BiOp), which concluded the plan would not likely jeopardize the Canada lynx's continued existence, faile...

A district court denied summary judgment for a trade group representing ranchers and beef producers in a challenge to FWS' denial of the group's petition to remove the southwestern willow flycatcher from the endangered list under the ESA. The group argued FWS' denial, which concluded the southwester...

The D.C. Circuit affirmed dismissal of a challenge to two FWS rules that delayed a 2021 proposed rule to reduce the amount of land in the Pacific Northwest designated as critical habitat for the northern spotted owl. A logging group challenged the validity of the rules delaying the effective date of...

A district court granted in part and denied in part a tribe's motion for partial summary judgment in a lawsuit concerning a hydroelectric dam on the Puyallup River in Washington. The tribe argued the dam operator's installation of a temporary rock dam/spillway unlawfully harmed and harassed Chinook ...

A district court denied nonprofit groups' motion for summary judgment in a challenge to FWS' 2016 decision to delist the Louisiana black bear after determining its population had recovered and was no longer threatened. The groups argued FWS should not have included the Upper Atchafalaya River Basin ...

A district court granted environmental groups' motion to lift a stay of a suit challenging NMFS' biological opinion (BiOp) concerning oil and gas activity in the Gulf of Mexico. The groups initially argued NMFS issued a flawed BiOp that underestimated the risks of harm to protected species and took ...