National forest litigation in the US courts of appeals

Abstract

To begin to learn more about how the legal system affects management activities on the national forests, we examined all published US courts of appeals cases decided from 1970 through 2001 in which the Forest Service was the defendant in a lawsuit challenging forest management. Our results demonstrate that, even though the Forest Service wins most courts of appeals cases, judicial review of national forest management is intensifying. Environmental interests were involved in most cases, and the National Environmental Policy Act was the basis for most litigation, although National Forest Management Act and Endangered Species Act cases are increasing. The cases were concentrated in the Ninth Circuit (the West)-the only circuit where the Forest Service lost more than half its cases.