San Luis Obispo Coastkeeper v. County of San Luis Obispo

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

SAN LUIS OBISPO No. 24-7807

COASTKEEPER; LOS PADRES

D.C. No.

FORESTWATCH; CALIFORNIA

2:24-cv-06854-

COASTKEEPER ALLIANCE;

SPG-AS

ECOLOGICAL RIGHTS

FOUNDATION,

OPINION

Plaintiffs - Appellees,

v.

COUNTY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California Sherilyn Peace Garnett, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted August 12, 2025 Pasadena, California

Filed December 3, 2025

Before: Jacqueline H. Nguyen, Danielle J. Forrest, and Lawrence VanDyke, Circuit Judges. 2 SAN LUIS OBISPO COASTKEEPER V. COUNTY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO

Opinion by Judge Nguyen; Concurrence by Judge VanDyke

SUMMARY *

Endangered Species Act

The panel vacated the district court’s mandatory preliminary injunction requiring the County of San Luis Obispo to take certain actions in its management of the Lopez Dam and Reservoir, and remanded for further proceedings, in a case in which environmental non-profit organizations (“the NGOs”), who allege decades of noncompliance with proper permitting processes, seek to protect and…