One-third of the land base in the United States is owned by the federal government. We assist a wide range of resource developers in obtaining access to those federal lands. We also frequently defend development interests in administrative appeals and litigation.
Our efforts have included litigating with and against, and appearing before, the federal land management agencies. We strive to secure favorable resource planning policies and decisions under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), the National Forest Management Act (NFMA), the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the Wilderness Act, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the federal wildlife laws. We have assisted clients in securing access to resources by sale, lease, permit, or land exchange under FLPMA, NFMA, the General Mining Law, the Mineral Leasing Act, the Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Act, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), and other federal land laws. Among our Supreme Court victories concerning federal land issues is the principal federal land planning case, Ohio Forestry Ass'n, Inc. v. Sierra Club, 523 U.S. 726 (1998), that curtailed the ability of activists to bring facial challenges to federal land management plans.
One of our partners has served in the Department of the Interior as attorney-advisor in the Solicitor's Office, and one served in the Environment & Natural Resources Division at the Department of Justice.