Description: Challenge to the revision of the Flathead National Forest Land Management Plan in northwestern Montana, including for failing to consider or account for impacts of climate change on grizzly bears.
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Swan View Coalition v. Steele
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 06/09/2023 Memorandum Download District court judgment affirmed in part, remanded in part, and remanded. Ninth Circuit Said Issuance of New Biological Opinion for Forest Plan Mooted Challenges to Previous BiOp. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that claims challenging a 2017 biological opinion (BiOp) for a forest plan for the Flathead National Forest were moot due to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s issuance of a superseding BiOp in 2022. The Ninth Circuit therefore vacated the District of Montana’s summary judgment rulings on Endangered Species Act claims, which remanded for additional analysis of certain issues, including impacts on the national grizzly bear population. The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment rulings for the defendants on National Environmental Policy Act claims. Neither the Ninth Circuit’s memorandum nor the district court’s 2021 opinion addressed some plaintiffs’ allegations that the federal defendants did not account for climate change impacts on grizzly bears. -
WildEarth Guardians v. Steele
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 12/10/2021 Order Download Motion to alter or amend judgment denied. 06/24/2021 Opinion and Order Download Parties' motions for summary judgment granted in part and denied in part and provisions of the 2017 BiOp that violated the Endangered Species Act remanded without vacatur. Federal Court Kept Forest Plan in Place but Remanded for More Consideration of Grizzly Bear Impacts and Other Issues. The federal district court for the District of Montana largely rejected challenges to federal approvals of revisions to the Flathead National Forest Land Management Plan in northwestern Montana but remanded without vacatur for additional analysis of certain issues under the Endangered Species Act. Those issues included the revised plan’s impact on the national grizzly bear population. The opinion did not specifically address the plaintiffs’ allegations that the federal defendants failed to account for climate change impacts on grizzly bears. 07/30/2020 Complaint Download Second amended complaint filed. 08/07/2019 Complaint Download First amended complaint filed. -
Swan View Coalition v. Bernhardt
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 04/15/2019 Complaint Download Complaint filed.