Here are the materials in Wild Fish Conservancy v. National Park Service (W.D. Wash.):
153 Wild Fish Conservancy Motion for Summary J
Environmental
Ninth Circuit Affirms Interior’s Decision to Authorize Gold Mine on Mt. Tenabo
Here is the order in Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada v. Dept. of Interior:
CA9 Unpublished Memorandum w Dissent
An excerpt from the dissent:
The BLM’s analysis of why E.O. 13007 did not apply was faulty for three reasons: the analysis failed to recognize that comments regarding the proposal did point to the area where the mine is being built as an area in which worship occurs; it demanded quantification of that use as a condition of Executive Order coverage, when no such quantification is necessary; and it required greater specificity of location than comports with Shoshone religious practices. As to the last point, to require greater specificity would interfere with Shoshone religious practices, as those practices appear to regard certain recognized natural areas, rather than specific set locations, as places for worship.
Briefs are here.
Split Ninth Circuit Panel Affirms Federal Tongass Roadless Rule
Here is the opinion in Organized Village of Kake v. Dept. of Agriculture.
An excerpt:
The panel reversed the district court’s order, which invalidated a 2003 United States Department of Agriculture regulation temporarily exempting the Tongass National
Forest in Alaska from application of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.The panel held that in its 2003 Record of Decision, the Department of Agriculture articulated a number of legitimate grounds for temporarily exempting the Tongass Forest from the 2001 Roadless Rule. The panel concluded that these grounds and the Department of Agriculture’s reasoning in reaching its decision were neither arbitrary nor capricious. The panel remanded to the district court to decide whether a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement is required in the first instance.
Judge McKeown dissented, and would affirm the district court’s decision because the administrative record does not support the USDA’s decision in 2003 to discard its previous position and temporarily exempt the Tongass from the Roadless Rule.
Briefs:
Amicus Brief Supporting Appellant
15 Years Ago Today, Minnesota v. Mille Lacs was Decided
With all of the depressing Indian Law cases that we read, it is always nice to remember the victories.
This is taken from the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission’s Facebook page:
Honoring Treaty Day 2014
A unique Ojibwe holiday, GLIFWC bands established Treaty Day following the US Supreme Court ruling in the Minnesota v. Mille Lacs case. That decision, issued 15 years ago today, found that reserved rights in the Minnesota 1837 ceded territory continued to exist—a ruling that supported earlier court decrees on other ceded lands and waters.
To the treaty-era Ojibwe headmen, tribal harvesters (across the centuries), legal experts, caretakers of treaty resources, and today’s men and women that lead tribes into the 21st Century: Chi Miigwech! COR
Morning Edition Story on Exxon Valdez 25 Years Later
Here.
Native Alaskan Tom Andersen, once a commercial fisherman, no longer makes his living from the sea, either. “You can’t fix it. Once you break that egg, sometimes that’s it,” he says.
Andersen, 71, says the waters here have sustained his people, the Chugach, for generations. He now picks up odd construction jobs hanging drywall. A whole way of living has changed, he says, making a wiping motion with his arm.
“You pretty much lived there — you got your clams and crabs and fish,” he says. “And then somebody come and dumped oil all over it, you know? That’s really hitting home.”
Federal Court Strikes USFWS Cape Wind Decision
Here is the opinion in Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility v. Beaudreu (D.D.C.):
The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) was part of this suit as well.
In These Times Profile of Fight against Rio Tinto’s Mine in UP
Alaska Native Subsistence Act Proposes Co-Management Structure That Includes Tribal Leaders to Replace Current Federal/State Management Structure
The Alaska Native Subsistence Co-Management Demonstration Act of 2014 proposes a new co-management structure in the Ahtna region. The new structure would include tribal officials in the management of the land and resources, replacing the current dual federal and state management structure.
The House Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs will hold a hearing on the Act March 14, 2014, 11:00 am (EST). The hearing will be available online here.
AFN has released an overview video to explain some of the complexities of protecting subsistence rights and the strength of co-management here.
Ahtna, Inc. has also released a video here.
Article here.
Winona LaDuke on Tribes’ Responses to Mines and Pipelines
Her piece in The Circle is here.
Sad Day — Joseph Sax Walks On
Here.
I saw Prof. Sax speak at David Getches’ memorial symposium at Colorado Law a little over a year ago. Glad I did.
Turtle Talk 
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