Conservation Northwest v. Harris Sherman

OPINION

TASHIMA, Circuit Judge:

We must decide whether a district court may approve resolution of litigation involving a federal agency through a consent decree, which substantially and permanently amends regulations that the agency could only otherwise amend by complying with statutory rulemaking procedures. Conservation Northwest and a coalition of other environmental groups (“Plaintiffs”) sued the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”), Forest Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service (collectively, the “Agencies”), challenging changes to the Survey and Manage Standard (“Survey and Manage” or the…