The D.C. Circuit held that USDA's failure to apply general animal welfare standards to birds does not violate the APA. In 2004, USDA announced that it intended to apply the protections of the…

The Ninth Circuit reversed a lower court decision dismissing an environmental group's ESA lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service concerning the agency's approval of suction dredge…

A district court held that an Idaho "ag-gag" law that criminalizes undercover investigations of agricultural production operations violates the U.S. Constitution. Under the law, a…

The Ninth Circuit upheld California's "shark fin law", which bans the possession, sale, and distribution of shark fins within the state. An association claimed that the Magnuson-…

The Ninth Circuit upheld the National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS') designation of critical habitat for the southern distinct population of green sturgeon, a threatened species. The…

The Ninth Circuit granted in part and denied in part a petition challenging an NPDES permit authorizing oil and gas exploration facilities' discharge of 13 waste streams into the Beaufort Sea…

The Ninth Circuit held that the U.S. Forest Service violated ESA §7 when it failed to reinitiate consultation after FWS designated critical habitat for the Canada lynx on National Forest land. In…

A district court held that FWS and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) violated the ESA and NEPA when they issued 50-year incidental take permits to a farm to take the northern spotted…

A district court held that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the ESA, and NEPA when it authorized the U.S. Navy to take large numbers…

A district court held that BLM violated NEPA and the APA when it authorized a logging project in an area of Douglas County, Oregon, that provides habitat for the northern spotted owl. In its EA…