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Abstract:
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Forest policy commentators frequently cite antidotal evidence supporting the proposition that the US Forest Service is less likely to win land management cases initiated in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Previous research of US Court of Appeals decisions supports this proposition, however, this research analyzed only published Court of Appeals decisions - less than 20% of all Forest Service land management cases initiated in the circuit's ten states (AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, & WA). This research analyzes every Forest Service land management case initiated from 1989 to 2004 to determine whether the Forest Service is less likely to win cases initiated in the 9th Circuit's courts. We compare the 9th Circuit's court's win, loss, and settlement rates to other circuits, and investigate temporal and case characteristic tendencies, such as the statutory basis of the lawsuit, the type of case, and type of plaintiff. We also examine whether the Forest Service is less likely to win cases initiated in some of the 9th Circuit's District Courts than in others. This presentation will be valuable to forest managers, policy makers, and stakeholders interested in public land management.
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