Resource Renewal Institute v. National Park Service

Court denied motion to stay litigation, instead choosing to close the case while still receiving status reports from parties in regard to implementation of settlement agreement.

Three organizations filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the Northern District of California challenging the National Park Service’s adoption of a General Management Plan amendment that expanded lands open to beef and dairy ranching within Point Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The complaint asserted violations of the Point Reyes Act, the National Park Service’s Organic Act, NEPA, the Clean Water Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act. In support of the NEPA claim, the plaintiffs alleged that the EIS “provided little information about the expected impacts of climate change and largely ignored how ranching will exacerbate these effects,” including expected exacerbation of water quality and water quantity problems.