San Carlos Apache Tribe v. United States Forest Service

── San Carlos Apache Tribe v. United States Forest Service ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Date: April 08, 2026 Category: General FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT ARIZONA MINING REFORM No. 25-5185 COALITION; INTER TRIBAL D.C. No. ASSOCIATION OF ARIZONA, 2:21-cv-00122- INC.; EARTHWORKS; CENTER DWL FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY; ACCESS FUND; GRAND CANYON CHAPTER OF THE AMENDED SIERRA CLUB, OPINION Plaintiffs - Appellants, v. UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE, an agency in the U.S. Department of Agriculture; NEIL BOSWORTH, Supervisor of the Tonto National Forest; BROOKE ROLLINS, US Secretary of Agriculture, Defendants - Appellees, RESOLUTION COPPER MINING, LLC, 2 AZ MINING REFORM COAL. V. U.S. FOREST SERV. Intervenor-Defendant - Appellee. SAN CARLOS APACHE TRIBE, a No. 25-5189 federally recognized Tribe, D.C. No. 2:21-cv-00068- Plaintiff - Appellant, DWL v. UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE, an agency in the U.S. Department of Agriculture; NEIL BOSWORTH, Supervisor of the Tonto National Forest; BROOKE ROLLINS, Defendants - Appellees, RESOLUTION COPPER MINING, LLC, Intervenor-Defendant - Appellee. GOUYEN BROWN LOPEZ; No. 25-5197 SINETTA LOPEZ, on behalf of D.C. No. herself and her minor child L.B.; 2:25-cv-02758- NOMIE BROWN; ANGELA DWL KINSEY, on behalf of herself and her minor children V.K. and M.K.,  AZ MINING REFORM COAL. V. U.S. FOREST SERV. 3 Plaintiffs - Appellants, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE; BROOKE ROLLINS; UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE; TOM SCHULTZ, Defendants - Appellees, RESOLUTION COPPER MINING, LLC, Intervenor-Defendant - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona Dominic Lanza, District Judge, Presiding Argued and Submitted January 7, 2026 Phoenix, Arizona Filed March 13, 2026 Amended April 8, 2026 Before: JOHNNIE B. RAWLINSON, MILAN D. SMITH, JR., AND DANIEL A. BRESS, Circuit Judges. 4 AZ MINING REFORM COAL. V. U.S. FOREST SERV. Opinion by Judge Milan D. Smith, Jr.; Partial Dissent by Judge Rawlinson SUMMARY * Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act The panel affirmed the district court’s denial of plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction seeking to block a land exchange, mandated by the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act (the Land Exchange Act), that targets a large copper deposit in Southeast Arizona located in the Tonto National Forest. The Land Exchange Act directs the United States Forest Service to transfer nearly 2,500 acres of National Forest land, including Oak Flat—an Apache ceremonial religious ground—and a deposit containing almost two billion metric tons of copper to a private mining company, Resolution Copper Mining LLC (Resolution Copper). In exchange, Resolution Copper must provide over 5,000 acres of equally appraised land to the federal government. Three groups of plaintiffs—the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition (AMRC), the San Carlos Apache Tribe (the Tribe), and a separate set of Apache plaintiffs (the Lopez Plaintiffs)—brought suit under the Land Exchange Act, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the National * This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It has been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader.  AZ MINING REFORM COAL. V. U.S. FOREST SERV. 5 Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the Religious Freedom Restora