American Independence Mines & Minerals Co. v. United States Department of Agriculture

MEMORANDUM

Plaintiff-Appellant, American Independence Mines and Minerals Co. (“American Mines”), appeals the dismissal of its complaint seeking judicial review of a travel management plan governing use of the roads in the Payette National Forest. American Mines filed suit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, the U.S. Forest Service, and several local employees of the U.S. Forest Service (collectively, the “Federal Defendants”) for alleged NEPA violations stemming from the issuance of new road use regulations in the Payette Forest.

The complaint alleged that the final environmental impact statement underlying the travel management plan was based on facts that the U.S. Forest Service knew were inaccurate. The district court dismissed the complaint after concluding that American Mines’ interest in the Payette National Forest was purely economic, and therefore it lacked prudential standing under NEPA. American Mines subsequently filed a motion to alter or amend the judgment under Rule 59(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which was untimely by one day. The Federal Defendants opposed the Rule 59(e) motion but did not object on…