Mount Graham Coalition v. Thomas, 53 F.3d 970 (9th Cir. 1995)
Case Summary:
On behalf of local and national Audubon societies and a broad coalition of environmental organizations, we won a ruling in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that the United States Forest Service and University of Arizona could not build one of the largest telescopes in the world on Mount Graham, Arizona, home to the highly endangered Mt. Graham Red Squirrel and a sacred Apache site, without complying with the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. As a result of the case, construction was halted for several years until Congress passed a legislative rider allowing the project to proceed.
Plaintiffs: Mount Graham Coalition
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit