Cottonwood Environmental Law Center v. Marten

The federal district court for the District of Montana dismissed a lawsuit that sought to compel the U.S. Forest Service to supplement the 1987 forest plan for the Custer Gallatin National Forest and for three projects authorized under the forest plan. The court rejected arguments that new climate change research and a decision to revise the 1987 forest plan to address climate change triggered supplementation requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

A conservation group filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the District of Montana asserting that the U.S. Forest Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by failing to prepare supplemental NEPA analysis in light of new scientific information regarding climate change. The plaintiffs alleged that the Forest Service approved a watershed project and a forest health project based on an environmental impact statement for a 1987 forest plan.