Plaintiffs raised claims under NEPA and the APA. Plaintiffs alleged violation of the APA by: (1) unreasonably delaying publication of a final rule following the 2001 proposal to rescind the 10(j) rule; or, alternatively (2) failing to comply with the 2000 experimental population rule and ROD by restoring grizzly bears to the Bitterroot Ecosystem. Plaintiffs also alleged that Defendants violated NEPA by failing to supplement the 2000 EIS based on a change in implementation of the chosen alternative and changed factual circumstances (i.e., the presence of dispersing grizzly bears within the Bitterroot).
The court granted summary judgment in Plaintiffs' favor on their NEPA claim and ordered Federal Defendants to propose a timeline for completing a supplemental EIS and a new ROD.