Read Sierra Forest Legacy v. Sherman, 09-17796

In a dispute concerning whether the process of establishing management guidelines for federal lands complied with both the procedural requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the substantive restrictions of the National Forest Management Act (NFMA), judgment of the district court is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) adopted supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) adequately addressed short-term impacts to old forest wildlife and disclosed and rebutted public opposition; 2) the plaintiffs did not violate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when approving a Basin Project because the plaintiffs adequately addressed the cumulative impacts of the proposed management action; 3) the plaintiffs violated NEPA by failing to update the alternatives from a 2001framework SEIS to reflect new modeling techniques used in a 2004 statement; and 4) district court erred in granting limited injunctive relief without giving undue deference to government experts.

Appellate Information

• Decided 05/26/2011
• Published 05/26/2011

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Gregory C. Loarie, Ignacia S. Moreno