Ohio Forestry Association, Inc. v. Sierra Club case brief

Ohio Forestry Association, Inc. v. Sierra Club case brief summary
523 U.S. 726 (1998)

CASE SYNOPSIS

The Court granted petitioner forestry association's writ of certiorari to review the judgment from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit that found for respondent private association and held that a forest plan violated the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (NFMA), 16 U.S.C.S. § 1600 et seq.

CASE FACTS
A private organization challenged the lawfulness of a federal land and resource management plan adopted by the U.S. Forest Service for Ohio's Wayne National Forest on the ground that the plan permitted too much logging and too much clearcutting. The lower court found against the forestry association and held that the plan improperly favored clearcutting and, therefore, violated the NFMA, 16 U.S.C.S. § 1600 et seq.

DISCUSSION:

• The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari to determine whether the dispute about the plan presented a controversy that was justiciable, and if so, whether the plan conformed to the statutory and regulatory requirements for a forest plan. 
• The Court concluded that the controversy was not yet ripe for judicial review. 
• It found that the delayed review would not cause hardship to the private organization, judicial intervention would inappropriately interfere with further administrative action, and the Court would benefit from further factual development of the issues presented. 
• Finally, Congress had not provided for pre-implementation judicial review of forest plans.

OUTCOME

The Court found the suit was not ripe for review, vacated the lower court's decision, and remanded the case with instructions to dismiss.

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