Dombeck

Friends of the Clearwater, Idaho Sporting Congress, Inc., the Northern Rockies Preservation Project, and the Ecology Center (collectively, “FOC”) appeal the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the United States Forest Service in connection with the Forest Service’s refusal to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (“SEIS”) for certain timber sales in the Nez Perce National Forest. FOC asks us to reverse the summary judgment and order the district court to enjoin the Forest Service from proceeding with the timber sales until it completes an SEIS. We hold that at the time this action was commenced, the Forest Service had failed adequately to assess the need for an SEIS, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”). After the onset of this litigation, however, the Forest Service explicitly considered the need for an SEIS and properly concluded, based on adequate data reasonably evaluated, that no SEIS is necessary. Accordingly, we affirm on the ground that FOC is not entitled to the injunctive relief it seeks.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The Nez Perce National Forest occupies approximately 2.2 million acres in north-central Idaho. It…