Apache Stronghold v. United States

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

APACHE STRONGHOLD, a 501(c)(3) No. 21-15295 nonprofit organization, Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 2:21-cv-00050- v. SPL

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; THOMAS

J. VILSACK, Secretary, U.S. OPINION

Department of Agriculture (USDA); RANDY MOORE, Chief, USDA Forest Service; NEIL BOSWORTH, Supervisor, USDA Forest Service, Tonto National Forest; TOM TORRES, Acting Supervisor, USDA Forest Service, Tonto National Forest, Defendants-Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona Steven Paul Logan, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted October 22, 2021 San Francisco, California

Filed June 24, 2022 Before: Mary H. Murguia, Chief Judge, and Marsha S. Berzon and Carlos T. Bea, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Bea; Dissent by Judge Berzon

SUMMARY *

Religious Freedom Restoration Act / Free Exercise Clause

The panel affirmed the district court’s denial of Apache Stronghold’s motion for a preliminary injunction seeking to stop a land exchange and prevent any copper mining on Oak Flat, a plot of land in Arizona.

A…