Proof in Trial: Appellate Edition: Stand Up for California et al. v. U.S. Department of the Interior et al.
Earthjustice sent a June 11th 60-day Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) citizen suit Notice of Intent to Sue (“NOI”) to the Tonto National Forest (“Forest”). The NOI alleges that Forest violated Section 7 of the ESA in its...more
The AGs of Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW) and their respective Secretary and Director for allegedly violating the U.S....more
Last week, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a ruling allowing the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) to continue pursuing its large Endangered Species Act (ESA) lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and...more
This January, the Department of the Interior and the Department of Commerce announced updated civil monetary penalties for violations of federal wildlife and natural resource protection laws including the Endangered Species...more
The United States Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) issued a November 15th Instruction Memorandum (“IM”) titled: Habitat Connectivity on Public Lands...more
The Western Environmental Law Center and Center for Biological Diversity (collectively “CBD”) filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (“Complaint”) in the United States District Court for the District of...more
California challenges San Bernardino air cargo facility used by Amazon - Freight Waves – January 4 - The state of California on Monday petitioned a federal appeals court to rehear its lawsuit challenging a new air...more
On December 10, 2021, the Biden Administration released the Fall 2021 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (Unified Agenda), which is a semi-annual compilation of information concerning regulations and policy...more
We interrupt our usual scrutiny of the courts to focus (mostly) on the important developments in notices and rulemaking issued by and concerning federal regulatory agencies and departments in the past several weeks....more
After a brief hiatus, incidental take of migratory birds will again be a federal crime beginning December 3, 2021. Less than 10 months after instituting a final rule declaring that incidental take of birds is not subject to...more
In May, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) announced a proposed rule revoking the Trump administration’s final rule on incidental take under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”). In the January 7, 2021 final...more
On June 29, 2021, fourteen members of Congress delivered a letter to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to use its authority to list the monarch butterfly (Danaus...more
On June 7, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court (“SCOTUS”) agreed with the Department of Justice and declined to hear a case brought by the Kansas Natural Resource Coalition (Coalition) challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife...more
On May 14, 2021, the Department of Justice filed a brief with the Supreme Court arguing that the Court should not hear the case of Kansas Natural Resource Coalition v. Department of Interior (“KNRC”). KNRC is a challenge to a...more
On May 7, 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS” or “Service”) published a proposed rule that would restore the traditional interpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”) as prohibiting incidental take...more
The regulation of protected wildlife is likely to undergo a seismic shift as a result of the change in administrations. Whereas the Trump Administration took several actions to narrow the reach of wildlife protection...more
The federal courts have issued some significant environmental law rulings in the past few days. THE U.S. SUPREME COURT - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service v. Sierra Club, Inc. On March 4, 2021, the court held that the...more
Europe’s offshore wind sector enjoyed a record $31 billion of investment in 2020. The U.S has some serious work to do to catch up. While development of land-based wind and solar projects continues at a rapid pace across the...more
DOI unveils plan to weaken protections for millions of acres of California desert - Reuters – January 13 - The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) on Wednesday proposed weakening environmental protections for millions...more
Biden picks North Carolina environmental chief to lead EPA - Associated Press – December 17 - President-elect Joe Biden this Thursday selected Michael S. Regan to serve as Administrator of the U.S. Environmental...more
White House directs agencies to relax enforcement - Los Angeles Times – September 9 - A memorandum produced by the White House Office of Management and Budget and sent to federal agency heads last week instructs them to...more
The Trump Administration’s efforts to clarify the scope of liability under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) suffered a setback when the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York concluded that the statute...more
On Aug. 11, 2020, a federal district court overturned the Trump administration’s 2017 interpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”). The MBTA implements four international conservation treaties and is intended to...more
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”) was first adopted in 1918, and for most of its existence the Department of the Interior (“DOI”) interpreted it to prohibit any taking or killing of migratory birds, intentional or not. ...more
The Departments of Commerce and the Interior (Departments) have completed a proposed rule to define the term “habitat” as that term is used in the context of designating “critical habitat” under section 7(a)(2) of the...more