The Ninth Circuit held that a U.S. Forest Service decision that a proposed mining operation…

The Ninth Circuit held that ESA §§7 and 9, as applied to the California delta smelt, do not violate the Commerce Clause. In 2008, the FWS issued a biological opinion (BiOp) to the Bureau of…

A district court vacated the FWS' removal of the Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel from the list of endangered species. Instead of applying the criteria set forth in the squirrel's recovery plan…

The Fourth Circuit held that a biological opinion issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service as part of EPA's process of reregistering the insecticides chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and…

A district court upheld the FWS' biological opinion and the U.S. Forest Service's EIS and record of decision for the Idaho Roadless Rule. The court therefore denied environmental groups'…

The Ninth Circuit amended dicta set forth in its prior opinion at 40 ELR 20233, which held that property owners and three…

The Ninth Circuit held that FWS' biological opinion addressing a hatchery project's impact on the bull trout in the Columbia River violates the ESA. Although the hatchery project is intended to…

A district court remanded the FWS' final rule listing the polar bear as a “threatened” species under the ESA. Shortly after FWS issued the rule, several groups filed suit, some arguing that…

The Ninth Circuit upheld the FWS' designation of critical habitat for the Mexican Spotted Owl. A cattle growers' association argued that the FWS unlawfully designated areas containing no owls as "…

A district court granted environmental groups’ motion for summary judgment finding that the NMFS and the FWS (collectively, the Services) acted arbitrarily and capriciously in failing to consider…