Appeals court upholds block of BLM grazing rules

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management broke three laws in 2006 when trying to amend land-use regulations regarding grazing, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded Wednesday. The court upheld most of a federal district court’s ruling in its decision, which was enough to ensure that government oversight of grazing operations will not be reduced. The appeals court found that the BLM had violated two federal laws when it failed to consider the environmental effects of the regulation changes. Therefore, the decision states, the district judge was justified in blocking the changes from taking effect. For a third law — the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) — the appeals court sent the case back to the district court to reconsider, as the latter overlooked a precedent-setting case from 1984. But any final ruling on that part won’t have an effect on BLM regulations. “We figure the (FLPMA) claim will be dismissed at this point by the district court,” said Jon Marvel, executive director of Western Watersheds Project, a case plaintiff. “The case has been decided on other grounds.”...more

You can read the opinion here.