U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today made the following statement after hearing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to deny the appeal of the U.S. Forest Service in challenging the ruling of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cottonwood v. U.S. Forest Service:
“I’m very disappointed that the Supreme Court declined to hear this case. Allowing the Ninth Circuit’s disastrous ruling to stand will greatly increase needless paperwork on the Forest Service and further delay much-needed restorative management work. This development makes it especially critical that Congress act to explicitly remove this crippling regulatory burden, and I will continue to fight toward that end.”
Daines recently wrote a letter to the Energy Conferees outlining the importance of this case.
Background:
- According to the Forest Service there are 773 ESA species in national forests of the Ninth Circuit that could potentially require consultation re-initiations.
- Further, there are 26 pending Notices of Intent (NOI) and 11 pending lawsuits have been filed under the ESA for consultation re-initiation for lynx and bull trout since 2009 in the Ninth Circuit.
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