Alliance for the Wild Rockies v. Tom Tidwell

MEMORANDUM

Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Native Ecosystems Council (together “Plaintiffs”) appeal the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendant, the United States Forest Service (“Forest Service”), finding that the Forest Service did not violate the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) or the National For est Management Act (“NFMA”) in approving the Cow Fly Salvage Harvest project. We affirm the judgment of the district court.

1. The Forest Service first challenges Plaintiffs’ standing to bring this action. Because Plaintiffs’ standing was not challenged before the district court, Plaintiffs need only to have made general allegations of injury resulting from the Forest Service’s conduct. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560-61 , 112 S.Ct. 2130 , 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992). Plaintiffs did so in their complaint.

2. Plaintiffs claim that the Forest Service violated NEPA by failing to consider the cumulative impacts of past timber projects. NEPA establishes a mandatory process federal agencies must follow to ensure they “take a hard look at the environmental consequences of their actions.” Sierra Club v. Bosworth, 510 F.3d 1016, 1018 (9th…