The Lands Council v. McNair
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
537 F.3d 981 (2008)
The Lands Council (plaintiff) sued the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) (defendant), arguing the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) required on-the-ground field verification of a logging project's effects on the flammulated owl and its habitat, relying on Ecology Center, Inc. v. Austin, which had extended an earlier ruling (Lands Council I) requiring on-site soil-quality verification into a broader on-the-ground analysis requirement for wildlife effects generally. The district court denied the Council's motion for a preliminary injunction, and the Council appealed, prompting the Ninth Circuit to reconsider whether to uphold Ecology Center.
Whether the National Forest Management Act requires the federal government to use on-the-ground field analysis to verify its conclusions about the effects of timber harvesting on forest wildlife and habitat.