A district court dismissed a challenge to FWS' development of guidelines implementing its species status assessments (SSA) program under the ESA. An environmental group argued that the Service failed to provide public notice and an opportunity for comment on the guidelines, thus depriving the group ...

A district court dismissed for lack of standing a challenge to FWS' decision to delist the threatened Louisiana black bear under the ESA. Individuals and nonprofit groups challenged the Service's conclusions in its decision that the bear was recovered and no longer met the definition of a threatened...

A district court held that FWS must reconsider its approval of a proposed open-pit copper mine in the Coronado National Forest. An environmental group argued the agency improperly used a heightened standard of review when it determined the mine was unlikely to result in destruction or adverse modifi...

A district court held that FWS' decision to list the northern long-eared bat as threatened rather than endangered under the ESA was arbitrary and capricious. Environmental groups argued that the rationale FWS relied on to reach its decision—that the species had not yet suffered declines and appear...

The Tenth Circuit held that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was not required to consult with FWS about alternative water management policies in the Rio Grande River that would help protect the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher and the Rio Grande silvery minnow. An environmental group argued...

The Fifth Circuit vacated FWS' 2016 decision denying a petition to delist the golden-cheeked warbler, which was listed as an endangered species under the ESA in 1990. Texas' General Land Office argued that the decision violated NEPA because the Service failed to prepare an EIS. The court found that ...

A district court temporarily blocked a California law banning the import and sale of alligator and crocodile products. The court noted, however, that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife can continue to enforce laws that bar the importation of alligator and crocodile bodies and body parts ...

The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court's denial of leave to file an amended complaint in a challenge to NPS' authority to prohibit commercial herring fishing in the waters of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco Bay. A fishing industry group argued that NPS did not have the...

A district court vacated exempted fishing permits issued by NMFS that allowed two vessels to engage in commercial longline fishing in federal waters off the coast of California for two years. Environmental groups contended that the permits threatened the survival and recovery of Pacific leatherback ...

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