ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS

• Group Sues Over Crop Subsidies on US Forest Land
• LA Gas Station Gets Hydrogen Fuel Pump

ANIMALS

• Navy Disputes Restrictions to Protect Whales
* Read a Related Case from the Ninth Circuit
• Helmsley Reportedly Leaves $8B to Canine Care
• Groups Seek Drilling Halt Near Sage Grouse Habitat
• No Immediate Plans to Move Dolphins from NJ River

RECENT CASE SUMMARIES

• US v. Warr
• US v. FMC Corp.
• US v. Vasquez-Ramos
• Coos County Bd. of County Comm'rs v. Kempthorne

ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS:

GROUP SUES OVER CROP SUBSIDIES ON US FOREST LAND
(AP) - The U.S. Forest Service has subsidized corn and soybean farming on its lands for years - and rankled environmentalists are now suing the agency for what they say is an illegal dole. Read more...

Related Resources
• Agriculture Law Attorney, Lawyer and Law Firm Directory

LA GAS STATION GETS HYDROGEN FUEL PUMP
(AP) - City Councilman Bill Rosendahl drove into a corner gas station with a big grin on his face. He stepped out of a sports utility vehicle, pumped fuel into the tank and declared it "the most joyous moment I've had since being elected to office." Read more...

Related Resources
• FindLaw Message Boards - Environmental Law

ANIMALS:

NAVY DISPUTES RESTRICTIONS TO PROTECT WHALES
(AP) - The Navy is challenging Hawaii's authority to protect whales by restricting the use of sonar during training exercises, environmentalists and military representatives say. Read more...

Related Resources
• Read a Related Case from the Ninth Circuit

HELMSLEY REPORTEDLY LEAVES $8B TO CANINE CARE
(AP) - Animal welfare groups must be panting: Leona Helmsley reportedly directed that her fortune - up to $8 billion - be used for the care and welfare of dogs. The New York Times reported Wednesday that the bequest was included in a so-called mission statement for the estate of the real estate magnate, who died last August. Read more...

Related Resources
• Resources for the Law of Probate, Trusts & Estates

GROUPS SEEK DRILLING HALT NEAR SAGE GROUSE HABITAT
(AP) - Two conservation groups have asked the federal government to impose new restrictions on oil and gas development in the West to protect the greater sage grouse, a popular game bird on the decline. Read more...

Related Resources
• FindLaw's Guide to Federal Executive Agencies

NO IMMEDIATE PLANS TO MOVE DOLPHINS FROM NJ RIVER
(AP) - A group of 15 dolphins can stay in a river near the Jersey Shore for the next few days in the hope that they'll return to the ocean on their own, authorities said Monday. Read more...

Related Resources
• Legal Resources for the State of New Jersey

RECENT CASE SUMMARIES:

US V. WARR
(U.S. 9th Circuit) - A sentence for wildland arson is affirmed where: 1) the district court did not err in calculating the advisory sentencing guidelines range when it included fire suppression costs in the loss calculation, resulting in an elevated total offense level; 2) the sentence was not unreasonable; and 3) although the district court erred in relying on a Bureau of Prisons' study at sentencing without notifying defendant in advance, the failure to provide notice did not constitute plain error. Read more...

US V. FMC CORP.
(U.S. 9th Circuit) - In an action brought by Indian tribes against a mining company to enforce a Consent Decree that had been entered into by the company and the government, orders finding that the tribes could enforce the Consent Decree as third-party beneficiaries and that the Consent Decree required the company to apply for tribal permits are vacated and remanded for dismissal of the action where the tribes lacked standing to enforce the Consent Decree. Read more...

US V. VASQUEZ-RAMOS
(U.S. 9th Circuit) - Denial of defendants' motion to dismiss their indictments for possessing feathers and talons of bald and golden eagles and other migratory birds without a permit in violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA), and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), is affirmed where, pursuant to prior circuit precedent which remains binding, the prosecutions did not violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). (Substituted opinion) Read more...

COOS COUNTY BD. OF COUNTY COMM'RS V. KEMPTHORNE
(U.S. 9th Circuit) - The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) does not have an enforceable duty promptly to withdraw a threatened species from the protections of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) after a five-year agency review mandated by the Act found that the species does not fit into one of the several types of population categories protected under the ESA. Read more...