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How Far Will USFWS Expand Incentives for Voluntary Conservation Actions Under...
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tries to encourage landowners to take voluntary steps to benefit species that might become threatened or endangered. The hope is that the landowners’ conservation...
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When Is Wetland a Wetland – And How Do We Find Out?
In recent years, two United States Supreme Court decisions have significantly reduced the scope of federal wetlands jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act. Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County...
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To Consult or Not To Consult – That Is the Question for the Ninth Circuit
The Ninth Circuit is at center stage again in the debate over the interpretation and enforcement of federal environmental laws. In a sharply divided 7-4 en banc decision, the Ninth Circuit ruled that...
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The Wetlands Debate Intensifies As House Republicans Question Two Upcoming...
In a recent post ["When is a Wetland a Wetland -- and How Do We Find Out?"] we described the significant uncertainties in ascertaining the reach of the Clean Water Act over wetlands, ponds, drainage...
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The Ninth Circuit Interprets “Agency Action” under the Endangered Species Act...
On July 17, 2012, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit ruled in Natural Resources Defense Council v. Salazar that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s renewal of water delivery contracts with senior...
View ArticleNinth Circuit Upholds Fish & Wildlife Service Regulations Against...
The Chukchi Sea off the North Slope of Alaska is a promising place for oil and gas development. But it’s also home to polar bears and walruses. This clash of interests led to a lawsuit by two...
View ArticleCourt Overturns Biological Opinion That Relied On Unenforceable Conservation...
The Ninth Circuit has overturned a Biological Opinion issued by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for the Ruby Pipeline Project, a proposed natural gas pipeline that would extend nearly 700 miles...
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Fish & Game Commission’s Decision To Deny Petition To Remove Coho Salmon From...
The California Endangered Species Act allows interested parties to file a petition with the California Fish & Game Commission to list or delist a species as threatened or endangered. If the...
View ArticleCalifornia Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Case Under California Endangered...
The California Endangered Species Act allows interested parties to file a petition with the California Fish & Game Commission to list or delist a species as threatened or endangered. If the...
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Definition of “Agency Action” under the Endangered Species Act to be Reheard...
In July 2012, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit ruled in Natural Resources Defense Council v. Salazar, 686 F.3d 1092 (9th Cir. 2012), that the decision by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to...
View ArticleFederal Agencies Cannot Use Consent Decrees To Adopt Stricter Regulatory...
Can a district court “approve resolution of litigation involving a federal agency though a consent decree, which substantially and permanently amends regulations that the agency could only otherwise...
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Criminal Penalties for Bird Deaths Caused by Wind Projects
In the first criminal case ever prosecuted under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Department of Justice filed misdemeanor charges against Duke Energy for more than...
View ArticleState Water Resources Control Board May Weigh the Use of Water for Public...
A court of appeals, for the first time, has upheld the State Water Resources Control Board’s authority to restrict valid pre-1914 and riparian water rights on the ground that their exercise has become...
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Airport Challenge Does Not Fly: Court Upholds Use of Addendum for Changes to...
The City of San Jose’s use of an addendum for recent modifications to the San Jose Airport’s Master Plan has been upheld by the court of appeal. Citizens Against Airport Pollution v. City of San Jose,...
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25th Annual Briefing on Land Use and Development Law — Materials Available
Perkins Coie attorneys — most of whom contribute regularly to this report — recently presented the 25th Annual Land Use & Development Law Breakfast Briefing in Palo Alto, San Francisco and Walnut...
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California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s EIR for Fish-Stocking and...
A court of appeal has held that the first-ever environmental impact report for the state’s fish hatchery and stocking programs complies with CEQA, but also found that three of the EIR’s mitigation...
View ArticleFish and Wildlife Service Launches Regulatory Initiative on Migratory Bird...
For the first time since the Migratory Bird Treaty Act was enacted in 1918, the federal government is proposing a permit system to authorize the incidental take of the more than 1,000 species of...
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The Importance of Independence: The Ninth Circuit Provides Helpful...
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a right-of-way for an access road over Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land to connect a wind project to a state highway did not trigger formal...
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District Court Strikes 30-Year Eagle Take Rule
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has invalidated the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s adoption of a new rule increasing the maximum duration of programmatic permits to...
View ArticleComplex New Requirements for CEQA Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Set by...
Newhall Ranch, a proposed mega-development in Los Angeles County, can’t seem to catch a break: besieged by setbacks since Newhall Land first filed an application to develop the land in 1994, the...
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