North Cascades Conservation Council v. United States Forest Service

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

NORTH CASCADES No. 24-1422

CONSERVATION COUNCIL, A

D.C. No. nonprofit Washington corporation, 2:22-cv-00293-

SAB

Plaintiff - Appellant,

v.

OPINION

UNITED STATES FOREST

SERVICE, A federal agency of the United States Department of Agriculture; KRISTIN BAIL, In her official capacity as Forest Supervisor, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, United States Forest Service,

Defendants - Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington Stanley Allen Bastian, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted February 14, 2025 Seattle, Washington

May 2, 2025 Before: William A. Fletcher, Ronald M. Gould, and Jacqueline H. Nguyen, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Gould

SUMMARY *

Environmental Law

The panel affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s summary judgment in favor of the United States Forest Service in an action brought by North Cascades Conservation Council challenging the Forest Service’s approval of the Twisp Restoration Project, a forest thinning project in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in…