Western Watersheds Project v. United States Forest Service

Several parties moved to intervene in a case challenging the U.S. Forest Service’s decision to allow grazing on certain federal lands. The plaintiff in the case alleged that that the Forest Service failed to discuss in its EIS new information on noxious weeds and climate change.  In a previous decision, the court held that the Forest Service violated NEPA by not fully considering grazing’s impact on the environment and ordered it to complete a supplemental EIS. Two proposed interveners hold permits to graze sheep on certain allotments of federal land and two others are associations dedicated to advancing the sheep industry. The court denied the intervention as to liability but allowed it with respect to remedies, holding that none of the interveners had any unique insight into the Forest Service’s conduct with respect to its liability.