Conservation Northwest v. Sherman
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
715 F.3d 1181 (2013)
Relevant factsFree
The Northwest Forest Plan's Survey and Manage Standard required agencies to survey certain species in federal forests; Conservation Northwest and other environmental groups (plaintiffs) sued the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service (defendants) over changes to the standard, and the parties settled via a consent decree that the district court approved, effectively amending the standard by reclassifying species and creating survey exemptions. A defendant-intervenor appealed the consent decree's approval.
IssueFree
Whether a court may approve a consent decree that substantially and permanently amends an agency rule governing national forests.
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