Articles

Yesterday I wrote about Judge Smith’s stinging dissent in the Ninth Circuit’s most recent (en banc) decision concerning the Endangered Species Act.  In reviewing the decision more closely, I was struck by how both the majority and the dissent appear to make a fundamental error in their legal analysis.  Under the ESA’s regulation ...

A petition for a writ of certiorari has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Ninth Circuit decision that the receipt of a notice of intent to mine from a private party is an “agency action” triggering a duty to consult with relevant federal agencies under the Endangered Species Act.  The Ninth Circuit decision … ...

In The New 49’ers v. Karuk Tribe, the petitioner gold miners seek United States Supreme Court review of a 7-4 en banc decision of the Ninth Circuit holding that the Forest Service must conduct consultation under the Endangered Species Act when determining whether small-impact mining can proceed on the national forests.  Pacific Legal Foundat ...

Several of America’s best known ski areas operate on national forests under permits from the Forest Service.  They own private water rights to make snow as well as basic services at their ski lodges, restaurants, and hotels.  The ski areas did not get these water rights from the Forest Service, which cannot grant any water rights.  They ...

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was intended to protect the human environment, not to keep humans out of the environment.  Yet that is exactly how the United States Forest Service is using NEPA – to keep people away from forests.  The Service is closing forest access to those among us who are unable to hike countless  ...

The U. S. Forest Service summarily closed 90% of the lawful, user-created motorized routes in Tahoe National Forest, thereby constructing a virtual roadblock to keep all but the most able-bodied away from the forest’s aesthetic and recreational opportunities.  By its decision  denying access, the Forest Service showed its true colors ...

Earlier this week, the United States Forest Service published for public comment proposed changes to the agency’s manual governing special use permits for ski resorts on National Forest land.  The proposal comes a few years after the ski industry successfully sued the Forest Service for trying to implement similar proposals without first mak ...

Contract rights — adverse New Mexico decision The New Mexico Supreme Court issued this adverse decision in First Baptist Church of Roswell v. Yates Petroleum.  Here, the church entered into a standard contract with Yates, which specified that until the church provided proof of ownership, no interest would accrue on the royalties.  The churc ...

Last month, the Forest Service proposed a regulation that would require permits costing as much as $1500 to take photographs or film on Forest Service land. The public response has been overwhelmingly negative I tried but couldn’t make the sentence long enough for all the criticism…. To put this simply enough that a Forest Service R ...