There WAS something to report this week (but it goes back a few weeks). The Forest Service summaries are here:
Litigation Weekly July 09 2021 EMAIL
Links to court documents are provided in the abbreviated summaries below.
COURT DECISIONS
On June 24, 2021 the District Court of Montana issued an unfavorable decision to the Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concerning the 2018 Revised Flathead Forest Plan and supporting 2017 biological opinion and their consideration of effects on grizzly bears and bull trout. (This was previously summarized here.)
On June 21, 2021 the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court of Montana’s decision that the Rails-to-Trails Act secured title to the government of an abandoned railroad right of way across plaintiff’s land on the Kaniksu National Forest. (This was also discussed here.)
NEW CASES
On July 1, 2021 Sequoia ForestKeeper and Earth Island Institute filed a complaint in the Eastern District Court of California against the Plateau Roads Hazard Tree Project on the Sequoia National Forest regarding the alleged improper use of the categorical exclusion (CE 4) for road repair and maintenance.
On June 21, 2021, Plaintiffs filed a complaint in the United States Court of Federal Claims alleging a breach of contract by the Forest Service for revoking their ski area permit on the Umatilla National Forest after a dispute over Forest Service management of snowmobile use of the parking lot.
NOTICE OF INTENT TO SUE
The Forest Service (Region 5) received a 90 Day Notice of Intent to Sue under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) dated June 21, 2021 from the Environmental Protection Information Center and others regarding trespass cannabis farms and the Forest Service’s handling of these trespass sites, including solid waste discarded and left on the Six Rivers, Shasta-Trinity, and Plumas National Forests. (This was also discussed here.)