Aluminum Company of America v. Administrator, Bonneville Power Administration
175 F.3d 1156 (9th Cir. 1999)
The point of contention in Aluminum Co. arose from a biological opinion (BiOp) issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in 1995. In 1992, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation decided to increase water... {Continue reading}

American Bird Conservancy v. Federal Communications Commission
545 F.3d 1190 (9th Cir. 2008)
Plaintiffs[1] (collectively American Bird) brought an action under the citizen-suit provision of the Endangered Species Act (ESA),[2] challenging a decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to issue licenses for seven communications towers in Hawaii. The United States District... {Continue reading}

American Rivers v. National Marine Fisheries Service
126 F.3d 1118 (9th Cir. 1997)
Various environmental and fishing groups alleged that federal agencies, namely the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps of Engineers), and the Bureau of Reclamation, violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA)[1] by issuing a... {Continue reading}

Arizona Cattle Growers' Ass'n v. United States Fish and Wildlife
273 F.3d 1229 (9th Cir. 2001)
In two actions, plaintiffs challenged the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) issuance of incidental take statements (ITSs) under the Endangered Species Act[1] (ESA) in connection with cattle grazing permits issued by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)... {Continue reading}

Bennett v. Plenert
63 F.3d 915 (9th Cir. 1995), cert. granted, 116 S. Ct. 1316 (1996)
The Ninth Circuit held that ranchers and irrigation districts (Irrigators) with interests adverse to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) could not bring a citizen suit to enforce the Act because they do not fall within the zone of interests sought... {Continue reading}

Biodiversity Legal Foundation v. Badgley
284 F.3d 1046 (9th Cir. 2002)
Eight environmental groups and several individuals (collectively "Biodiversity Legal Foundation")[1] appealed a district court decision[2] that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has discretion under section 4 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA)[3] to make initial findings beyond... {Continue reading}

Biodiversity Legal Foundation v. Badgley
309 F.3d 1166 (9th Cir. 2002)
Editor's Note: The Ninth Circuit withdrew its opinion, Biodiversity Legal Foundation v. Badgley, 284 F.3d 1046 (9th Cir. 2001) (summarized in issue 32:3 of Environmental Law), and replaced it with the opinion summarized below. Numerous individuals and environmental groups sued... {Continue reading}

California Sportfishing Protection Alliance v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
472 F.3d 593 (Dec. 12, 2006)
California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (California Sportfishing) petitioned the Ninth Circuit for review of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) decision not to initiate formal consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA),[1] regarding... {Continue reading}

Center for Biological Diversity v. Badgley
335 F.3d 1097 (9th Cir. 2003)
The Center for Biological Diversity and eighteen other nonprofit organizations (collectively the Center) sued the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), claiming that FWS's decision not to list the northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), as threatened or endangered under the... {Continue reading}

Center for Biological Diversity v. Kempthorne
466 F.3d 1098 (9th Cir. 2006)
The Center for Biological Diversity and Pacific Rivers Council (collectively "the Center") appealed a grant of summary judgment after a district court found that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) sufficiently complied with the mandates of the Endangered... {Continue reading}

Center for Biological Diversity v. United States Fish & Wildlife Service
450 F.3d 930 (9th Cir. 2006)
The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) sued the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) challenging the Service's failure to designate critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)[1] for the unarmored threespine stickleback (stickleback)-an endangered, scaleless fish.... {Continue reading}

Coos County Board of County Commissioners v. Kempthorne
531 F.3d 792 (9th Cir. 2008)
The Coos County Board of County Commissioners (Coos County) appealed a district court decision dismissing its action brought against the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Secretary... {Continue reading}

Defenders of Wildlife v. Bernal
204 F.3d 920 (9th Cir. 2000)
Defenders of Wildlife and the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity (Defenders) appealed a decision of the District Court for the District of Arizona, holding that the proposed construction of a Tucson, Arizona high school would not result in a "take"... {Continue reading}

Defenders of Wildlife v. E.P.A.
420 F.3d 946 (9th Cir. 2005)
Conservation groups Defenders of Wildlife and Center for Biological Diversity, and concerned citizen Craig Miller (collectively Defenders) petitioned the Ninth Circuit for review of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) decision to transfer Clean Water Act (CWA)[1] National Pollution Discharge... {Continue reading}

Defenders of Wildlife v. E.P.A.
450 F.3d 394 (9th Cir 2006)
The Ninth Circuit denied a petition from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for en banc reconsideration of the Ninth Circuit's 2005 decision in Defenders of Wildlife v. EPA (Defenders).[1] Defenders concerned EPA's decision to transfer to Arizona the... {Continue reading}

Defenders of Wildlife v. Flowers
414 F.3d 1066 (9th Cir. 2005)
Defenders of Wildlife and the Center for Biological Diversity (Defenders) challenged a district court's summary judgment ruling that an Army Corps of Engineers' (Corps) decision to forego consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) regarding the effect of two... {Continue reading}

Defenders of Wildlife v. Norton
258 F.3d 1136 (9th Cir. 2001)
The plaintiffs, environmental groups and individuals, (Defenders) appealed a district court decision upholding a decision of the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) to withdraw a proposed rule to list the flat-tailed horned lizard as a threatened species under the... {Continue reading}

Environmental Defense Center v. Babbitt
73 F.3d 867 (9th Cir. 1995)
Under the 1995 congressional appropriations rider, the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) was precluded from using previously appropriated funds to finance final threatened or endangered species listing determinations under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Ninth Circuit held that the... {Continue reading}

Environmental Protection Information Center v. Simpson Timber Co.
255 F.3d 1073 (9th Cir. 2001)
At issue in this case was whether the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) retained sufficient discretionary control over an incidental take permit issued to Simpson Timber to require FWS to reinitiate consultation with itself when two additional species found on... {Continue reading}

Forest Conservation Council v. Rosboro Lumber Co.
50 F.3d 781 (9th Cir. 1995)
An environmental group, the Forest Conservation Council (FCC), filed suit against Rosboro Lumber Company to stop it from building a proposed access road and subsequently clearcutting forty acres of land, which allegedly threatened a pair of spotted owls, a threatened... {Continue reading}

Forest Guardians v. Johanns
450F.3d 455 (9th Cir. 2006)
Forest Guardians appealed a judgment, which held that the United States Forest Service (USFS) complied with the Endangered Species Act (ESA)[1] despite USFS's failure to re-initiate consultation with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) after deficiently monitoring grazing... {Continue reading}

Gifford Pinchot Task Force v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service
378 F.3d 1059 (9th Cir. 2004), amended by 387 F.3d 968 (9th Cir. 2004)
The Gifford Pinchot Task Force and other environmental organizations (collectively Task Force) petitioned the Ninth Circuit for review of six biological opinions (BiOps) issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), which authorized the incidental "take" of threatened Northern spotted... {Continue reading}

Idaho Department of Fish & Gamev. National Marine Fisheries Service
56 F.3d 1071 (9th Cir. 1995)
The Aluminum Company of America and other Direct Service Industries (DSIs), the Pacific Northwest Generating Cooperative (PNGC), and the Public Power Council (PPC) appealed the district court's decision that federal agencies could reinitiate consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service... {Continue reading}

Idaho Farm Bureau Federation v. Babbitt
58 F.3d 1392 (9th Cir. 1995)
Idaho Farm Bureau Foundation (IFBF) brought this suit against the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and other federal agencies alleging violations of both the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) for its listing of a... {Continue reading}

Kern County Farm Bureau v. Allen
450 F.3d 1072 (9th Cir. 2006)
Kern County Farm Bureau (Kern), among others, appealed a judgment that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) complied with the procedural requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA)[1] and the Endangered Species Act (ESA)[2] when FWS incorporated information... {Continue reading}

Marbled Murrelet v. Babbit
83 F.3d 1060 (9th Cir. 1996)
In Marbled Murrelet the Ninth Circuit affirmed the issuance of a permanent injunction to halt the logging of coastal old-growth forests which were the nesting ground of the marbled murrelet, an endangered species. The court held that the Endangered Species... {Continue reading}

Marbled Murrelet v. Babbitt
182 F.3d 1091 (9th Cir. 1999)
p>This case stems from a suit brought by an environmental non-profit organization, the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC), against the defendants, Pacific Lumber Company and the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). The suit challenged Pacific Lumber's timber harvest plan under... {Continue reading}

National Ass'n of Home Builders v. Norton
340 F.3d 835 (9th Cir. 2003)
The National Association of Home Builders, Southern Arizona Home Builders Association, and the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona (collectively Home Builders) brought suit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) challenging the designation of the Arizona population of the cactus... {Continue reading}

National Audubon Society, Inc. v. Davis
307 F.3d 835 (9th Cir. 2002), amended by 312 F.3d 416 (9th Cir. 2002)
Bird conservation organizations and wildlife trappers challenged a California voter-adopted ban on the use of steel-jawed leghold animal traps by anyone including federal employees. The district court dismissed the trappers' claims for lack of standing and then held that the... {Continue reading}

National Wildlife Federation v. National Marine Fisheries Service
422 F.3d 782 (9th Cir. 2005)
Defendants National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the Army Corps of Engineers petitioned the Ninth Circuit to review a U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon decision to grant a preliminary injunction to plaintiffs National Wildlife Federation (NWF) requiring... {Continue reading}

Natural Resources Defense Council v. United States Department of the Interior
113 F.3d 1121 (9th Cir. 1997)
The Ninth Circuit held that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) must designate critical habitat for the coastal California gnatcatcher under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA).[1] The FWS argued that listing of critical habitat would be imprudent... {Continue reading}

Northern Alaska Environmental Center v. Kempthorne
457 F.3d 969 (9th Cir. 2006)
Various environmental organizations appealed a district court's grant of summary judgment upholding the adequacy under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)[1] and the Endangered Species Act (ESA)[2] of a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) prepared by the Bureau of Land... {Continue reading}

Northwest Forest Resource Council v. Glickman
82 F.3d 825 (9th Cir. 1996)
In this case the court consolidated two appeals arising from the same case. First, the court affirmed the district court's adoption of Northwest Forest Resource Council's (NFRC) interpretation of section 2001(k)(1) of the "Salvage Rider," that the "Secretaries of Agriculture... {Continue reading}

Northwest Forest Resource Council v. Pilchuck Audubon Soc'y
97 F.3d 1161 (9th Cir. 1996)
In a consolidated appeal, timber harvesters and environmentalists separately challenged the validity and implementation of section 2001(k) of the Rescissions Act of 1995. Section 2001 (Salvage Rider) of the Act required the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior (Secretaries) to expedite... {Continue reading}

Oregon Natural Resources Council Inc. v. Kantor
99 F.3d 334 (9th Cir. 1996)
On October 20, 1993, Oregon Natural Resources Council (ONRC) and several environmental groups filed a petition with the Secretary of Commerce to list coho salmon as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA)[1] throughout its range... {Continue reading}

Oregon Natural Resources Council v. Thomas
92 F.3d 792 (9th Cir. 1996)
In an attempt to conform Northwest timber sales with federal environmental law, the Oregon Natural Resources Council (ONRC) appealed a district court decision which dismissed their challenge to timber sales in southwest Oregon. The sales at issue were within coverage... {Continue reading}

Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Ass'ns v. National Marine Fisheries Service
265 F.3d 1028 (9th Cir. 2001)
The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part a decision by the district court for the Western District of Washington to grant declaratory and injunctive relief to the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations and five other environmental... {Continue reading}

Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Ass'ns v. U. S. Bureau of Reclamation
426 F.3d 1082 (9th Cir. 2005)
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (Pacific Coast) and seven additional environmental and fishing organizations challenged a Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) plan to comply with Endangered Species Act[1] (ESA) obligations to protect threatened Southern Oregon... {Continue reading}

Salmon Spawning & Recovery Alliance v. Guiterrez
545 F.3d 1220 (9th Cir. 2008)
Conservation groups Salmon Spawning & Recovery Alliance, Native Fish Society, and Clark-Skamania Flyfishers (collectively Recovery Alliance) filed suit against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the official heads of each agency,... {Continue reading}

Southwest Center For Biological Diversity v. United States Forest Service
307 F.3d 964 (9th Cir. 2002)
Forest Guardians and the Center for Biological Diversity[1] (collectively the Center) sought an injunction against the United States Forest Service (USFS) to stop grazing in certain allotments of land in the southwestern United States because of its impact on the... {Continue reading}

Southwest Center for Biological Diversity v. United States Bureau of Reclamation
143 F.3d 515 (9th Cir. 1998)
The plaintiff, Southwest Center for Biological Diversity (Southwest Center), alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act (ESA)[1] by the United States Bureau of Reclamation (the Bureau). The plaintiff asserted that the Bureau's operations on the Lake Mead delta behind Hoover... {Continue reading}

Southwest Center for Biological Diversity v. United States Department of Agriculture
314 F.3d 1060 (9th Cir. 2002)
The issue in this case was whether a statute could be applied to an action pending when that statute was enacted. The statute in question was the National Parks Omnibus Management Act (the Act),[1] specifically section 207,[2] which created... {Continue reading}

Southwest Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. United States Forest Serv.
100 F.3d 1443 (9th Cir. 1996)
The Southwest Center for Biological Diversity (Southwest Center) filed an action, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, challenging a United States Forest Service (Forest Service) decision to proceed with a salvage timber sale. Southwest Center alleged that the Forest Service's decision... {Continue reading}

Tinoqui-Chalola Council of Kitanemuk and Yowlumne Tejon Indians v. United States Department of Energy
232 F.3d 1300 (9th Cir. 2000)
The Southwest Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club (collectively "the Center") challenged the Department of Energy's (DOE) sale of Elk Hills to Occidental Petroleum (Occidental). Elk Hills, also known as National Petroleum Reserve 1 (NPR-1), is the seventh... {Continue reading}

Turtle Island Restoration Network v. National Marine Fisheries Service
340 F.3d 969 (9th Cir. 2003)
The Turtle Island Restoration Network and the Center for Biological Diversity (collectively the Center) sued the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), claiming that NMFS violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA).[1] The Center claimed that by issuing longline fishing permits to... {Continue reading}

Tyler v. Cuomo
236 F.3d 1124 (9th Cir. 2000)
Homeowners in San Francisco's Mission District (Homeowners) brought this action against the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the City and County of San Francisco (City), Mission Housing Development Corporation (Mission Housing), and 1010 SVN Associates (SVN)... {Continue reading}

Washington Toxics Coalition v. E.P.A.
413 F.3d 1024 (9th Cir. 2005)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and various intervenors including CropLife America, Washington State Farm Bureau, and thirty-five other groups involved in the pesticide industry appealed the district court's order to suspend authorization of fifty-four pesticides, until EPA complied with the Endangered... {Continue reading}

Washington v. Daley
173 F.3d 1158 (9th Cir. 1999)
This case arose out of a consolidation of two cases,[1] Washington v. Daley[2] and Midwater Trawlers Coop. v. Department of Commerce,[3] which challenged a fishing allocation regulation, promulgated pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).[4] Under... {Continue reading}

Western Watersheds v. Matejko
468 F.3d 1099 (9th Cir. 2006)
Defendants U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM), as well as individual agency officials, together with intervenor-defendant State of Idaho appealed a district court's finding in favor of plaintiffs Western Watersheds Project and Committee for Idaho's High... {Continue reading}