Friends of Blackwater v. U.S. Department of the Interior, 391 F. Supp. 2d 115 (D.D.C. 2005)
Case Summary:
We represented the Friends of Blackwater Canyon in a lawsuit against the Fish
and Wildlife Service pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. Friends of
Blackwater had sought under the FOIA all documents in the possession of the Fish
and Wildlife Service concerning bird, bat, and other wildlife deaths or injuries
caused by industrial wind power turbines, as well as all documents concerning
the agency's enforcement or application of environmental laws - such as the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act or the Endangered Species Act - to wind power
companies. When the agency withheld numerous documents from Friends of
Blackwater, we sued to force the agency to release the documents. In September
2005, the district court ruled in our favor and ordered the agency to release
additional records. As a result of the lawsuit, the agency released thousands of
pages of previously withheld documents, which reveal that each year thousands of
birds are killed by wind turbines, and also reveal an ongoing pattern of refusal
by the Fish and Wildlife Service to prosecute any such killings under the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act or other applicable environmental laws.
Plaintiffs: Friends of Blackwater
Court: United States District Court for the District of Columbia