WILDEARTH GUARDIANS; WESTERN WATERSHEDS PROJECT; KETTLE RANGE CONSERVATION GROUP v. UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE; GLENN CASAMASSA
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has declined to revive a lawsuit brought by WildEarth Guardians, Western Watersheds Project, and Kettle Range Conservation Group which claimed the U.S. Forest Service’s (the Service) 2019 livestock grazing plan revisions for the Colville National Forest in Eastern Washington would make wolf attacks on livestock more frequent and in turn drive the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to kill more wolves to protect domesticated herds. Writing for the majority, U.S. Judge Eric D. Miller affirmed a lower court decision finding that plaintiffs lacked standing on the basis that the U.S. Forest Service cannot be liable for an injury that “arises from the actions of a third party that is two steps removed from the Service.”
[To accompany Case Law Update "Ninth Circuit Finds that Environmental Groups Failed to Establish Redressability in Lawsuit Challenging U.S. Forest Service Grazing Plan in Wolf Habitat” from Brooks Animal Law Digest Issue No. 194]