Delta smelt appeal hearing next week
On Monday morning in Las Vegas, the Ninth Circuit will hear the consolidated appeals of the federal government and its environmentalist supporters challenging Judge Oliver Wanger’s decision to overturn...
View ArticleToday’s Delta smelt hearing: What you need to know
This morning the Ninth Circuit heard argument in the consolidated Delta smelt appeals. At issue was Judge Oliver Wanger’s decision overturning the 2008 Delta smelt biological opinion, authored by the...
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A “bear” of a decision for water users
Seven Oaks Dam, on the Santa Ana River Last month, Judge Selna of the Central District of California rejected, in Bear Valley Mutual Water Co. v. Salazar, a challenge to the critical habitat...
View ArticleDelta smelt remand extension denied
Yesterday, Judge Lawrence O’Neill, Judge Wanger’s replacement in the Delta smelt cases, denied the joint motion of the feds and the California Department of Water Resources to extend by several years...
View ArticleOminous development for San Joaquin Valley water users
This morning, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to rehear en banc the appeal in Natural Resources Defense Council v. Salazar. In this case, the environmentalists challenge the failure of the...
View ArticleDelta smelt breaking news: government wins partial remand extension
This morning, Judge Lawrence O’Neill of the Eastern District of California (who now presides over the Consolidated Delta Smelt and Consolidated Salmonid Cases following Judge Oliver Wanger’s retirement...
View ArticleForty years of the Endangered Species Act: a time for reflection
I published this op-ed in the Visalia-Times Delta this morning. Here’s a snippet: Enacted in 1973 under President Richard Nixon, the ESA authorizes federal officials to identify “endangered” and...
View ArticleArmy Corps issues new ESA guidance
One of the most important provisions of the Endangered Species Act is Section 7, which requires, inter alia, that federal agencies ensure that their discretionary actions do not jeopardize the...
View ArticleWall Street Journal explains the Endangered Species Act’s continuing threat...
An editorial in the Wall Street Journal explains the problem that the Endangered Species Act poses for providing water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to the valley and southern California. The...
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PLF asks court to rule on the constitutionality of Utah prairie dog regulation
Authored by Jonathan WoodYesterday, PLF filed a motion for summary judgment on behalf of our clients, People for the Ethical Treatment of Property Owners (PETPO), in their case challenging federal...
View ArticleThe ESA at 40
Authored by Damien M. SchiffNext week, the Endangered Species Act turns 40 (we’ve already hosted a blogfestschrift on the topic). Nature has a conversation piece this week featuring the thoughts of...
View Article2014: the year of the water wars?
Authored by Jonathan WoodCalifornia, and much of the west, is experiencing its third consecutive year of drought. And a recent report on the Sierra Nevada snowpack—the source of much of California’s...
View ArticleDelta smelt appeal decided
Authored by Damien M. SchiffThis morning, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a fractured panel decision, largely upheld the 2008 Delta smelt biological opinion. The panel decision holds that Judge...
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President’s weekly report — March 14, 2014
Authored by Rob RivettProperty Rights — Supreme Court Victory! The United States Supreme Court handed down an 8 – 1 victory in Brandt v. United States, a case brought and argued by our allies at...
View ArticleStatus quo for now in the Delta smelt case
Authored by Damien M. SchiffEarlier this week, the district court in the Consolidated Delta Smelt Cases issued an order rejecting the request of the federal government and the environmental intervenors...
View ArticleMore on the smelt and the drought
Authored by Damien M. SchiffEarlier this week I appeared on The Blaze Network to discuss the impacts of environmental regulations on California’s San Joaquin Valley in this year of extreme drought....
View ArticleForty years of the Endangered Species Act: a time for reflection
I published this op-ed in the Visalia-Times Delta this morning. Here’s a snippet: Enacted in 1973 under President Richard Nixon, the ESA authorizes federal officials to identify “endangered” and...
View ArticleArmy Corps issues new ESA guidance
One of the most important provisions of the Endangered Species Act is Section 7, which requires, inter alia, that federal agencies ensure that their discretionary actions do not jeopardize the...
View ArticleWall Street Journal explains the Endangered Species Act’s continuing threat...
An editorial in the Wall Street Journal explains the problem that the Endangered Species Act poses for providing water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to the valley and southern California. The...
View ArticleNature Conservancy reminds us that there doesn’t have to be conflict between...
The New York Times reports on the Nature Conservancy’s innovative program to provide “pop-up” habitats for migrating birds. The plan is pretty simple: The Nature Conservancy’s supporters provide...
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