Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association

The Forest Service (defendant) approved paving a road through a national forest used as sacred religious ground by several tribes (plaintiffs), and though its own study confirmed the project would significantly interfere with tribal religious practice and damage sacred sites, it chose a route minimizing disruption rather than an alternative requiring private-land acquisition or unstable terrain, while also permitting nearby timber harvesting with protective buffer zones. The tribes sued, and the district court and court of appeals enjoined the project.