Alliance for the Wild Rockies v. Vicki Christensen

MEMORANDUM

Federal Defendants United States Forest Service (“Forest Service”) and United States Fish & Wildlife Service (“FWS”) appeal the district court’s grant of summary judgment enjoining two projects in the Gallatin National Forest—the Boze-man Municipal Watershed Project and the East Boulder Project—for violating the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) by failing to adequately assess impacts on lynx critical habitat. Plaintiffs, Alliance for the Wild Rockies and the Native Ecosystems Council, cross-appeal the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the Federal Defendants concerning the projects’ compliance with ESA and the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) as they relate to impacts on grizzly bears. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

1. Lynx

The district court did not err in holding that the federal agencies must reinitiate ESA § 7(a)(2) consultation on the Northern Rocky Mountains Lynx Management Direction (“Lynx Amendments”) and the specific Gallatin National Forest projects. Cottonwood Envtl. Law Ctr. v. U.S. Forest Serv., 789 F.3d 1075 (9th Cir. 2015), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 137 S.Ct. 293 , 196 L.Ed.2d 213 , 2016 WL 2840129 (Oct.…