Native Ecosystems Council v. Leslie Weldon

This case arises out of Native Ecosystems Council’s (Native Ecosystems Council) appeal of the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the United States Forest Service (Forest Service) in an action regarding the Ettien Ridge Fuels Reduction Project (the Project) in the Lewis and Clark National Forest, located in Montana. The Project was designed to reduce the spread and intensity of potential future wildfires in the Judith Basin County Wildland-Urban Interface by removing naturally occurring wildfire fuels. Native Ecosystems Council alleges that the Forest Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321 , 4331 (NEPA), and the National Forest Management Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1600-14 (NFMA), when it issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and Decision Notice approving the Project.

We hold that the Forest Service took the requisite “hard look” at the environmental impact of the Project on the elk hiding cover, and goshawk populations, in the manner required by NEPA. N. Plains Res. Council, Inc. v. Surface Transp. Bd., 668 F.3d 1067, 1075 (9th Cir.2011) (quoting Bering Strait Citizens for Responsible Dev. v. U.S. Army Corps of…