Today, a coalition of organizations took their years-long fight to protect Pine Mountain to one of the top courts in the country. The groups presented their oral arguments to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco—the final step before the court issues a ruling.
Each side was granted twenty minutes to argue the case to a panel of three judges. Our lead attorney on the case—the Environmental Defense Center’s deputy chief counsel Maggie Hall—crafted a powerful narrative regarding the mountain’s cultural and spiritual importance to Native People and its status as a Roadless Area and potential wilderness.
These issues and more hit at the crux of our legal argument: the U.S. Forest Service improperly used a loophole to approve the project instead of preparing an Environmental Assessment.
Also attending the hearing was ForestWatch executive director Jeff Kuyper, Keep Sespe Wild executive director Pete Deneen, and Center for Biological Diversity senior attorney Justin Augustine. Other plaintiffs on the case include the California Chaparral Institute, John Muir Project of Earth Island Institute, Center for Biological Diversity, Patagonia, and American Alpine Club.
When the judges issue their ruling in the coming weeks, we’ll learn the fate of Pine Mountain. Until then, the plants and wildlife and sacredness of the mountain hang in the balance.
You can watch a recording of the hearing or read a news article.
Support our ongoing work to protect Pine Mountain! Make a donation to our Pine Mountain Legal Defense Fund, or get some Pine Mountain merch from our online store.
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