United States Ninth Circuit

In a suit challenging a decision by the United States Forest Service to permit logging in accordance with certain changes made in 2004 by the USFS in the relevant forest, denial of a preliminary injunction against the USFS is reversed and three projects preliminarily enjoined where the district court abused its discretion in: 1) concluding that the USFS complied with NEPA's requirement to "[r]igorously explore and objectively evaluate all reasonable alternatives" with regard to a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS); and 2) in its balancing of equities.

Appellate Information

• Argued 03/01/2008
• Decided 05/14/2008
• Published 05/14/2008

Judges

• Before STEPHEN REINHARDT, JOHN T. NOONAN and RAYMOND C. FISHER, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Gregory C. Loarie and Michael R. Sherwood, Earthjustice, Oakland, CA;  Patrick Gallagher, Sierra ClubEnvironmental Law Program, San Francisco, CA;  Eric E. Huber, Sierra ClubEnvironmental Law Program, Boulder, CO;  and David B. Edelson (argued), Berkeley, CA, for plaintiffs-appellants., Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General;  Janet Gaard, Acting Chief Assistant Attorney General;  Gordon Burns, Deputy Solicitor General;  Theodora Berger, Senior Assistant Attorney General;  Ken Alex and Sally Magnani Knox, Supervising Deputy Attorneys General;  and Janill L. Richards, Deputy Attorney General, Oakland, CA, for Amicus Curiae Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General of the State of California.


• For Appellees:
  
• Ronald J. Tenpas, Acting Assistant Attorney General;  James L. Rosen, USDA Office of the General Counsel, San Francisco, CA;  Brian Toth, Clay Samford and Jennifer L. Scheller (argued), U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division, Washington, D.C., for federal defendants-appellees., Thomas R. Lundquist, J. Michael Klise and Steven P. Quarles, Crowell & Moring LLP, Washington, D.C., for intervening defendants-appellees Toulumne County Alliance for Resources and Environment, et al., Michael B. Jackson, Quincy, CA, for intervening defendant-appellees Quincy Library Group and Plumas County., Brian A. Kelly, Duane Morris LLP, San Francisco, CA, for intervening defendant-appellee California Ski Industry Association.