Court Battles

NRDC et al. v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service et al. (Rusty Patched Bumblebee)

February 8, 2024 Court CaseEast, MidwestActive

For the fourth time, NRDC headed to court to secure habitat protections for the endangered rusty patched bumblebee.

NRDC v. California Department of Pesticide Regulation

February 6, 2024 Court CaseCaliforniaActive

NRDC is challenging California’s policy that allows pesticide-treated seeds to go unregulated.

Potomac Riverkeeper v. U.S. Department of the Navy

January 10, 2024 Court CaseWashington, D.C., Maryland, VirginiaClosed

Thanks to a lawsuit brought by Potomac Riverkeeper Network and NRDC, the U.S. Navy must clean up its act on the Potomac River.

NRDC v. E. Scott Pruitt et al. (Neonic Pesticides)

May 15, 2023 Court CaseUnited StatesActive

Research shows neonics are highly toxic to wildlife, including key pollinators—and the EPA’s failure to act on that evidence violates the Endangered Species Act. So we’re suing.

Maine People’s Alliance and NRDC v. HoltraChem Manufacturing Co. LLC, and Mallinckrodt US LLC

October 11, 2022 Court CaseMaineActive

In 2000, NRDC and the Maine People’s Alliance sued Mallinckrodt—a former owner of a plant that contaminated the Penobscot River with toxic mercury—to seek a cleanup.

NRDC v. U.S. Department of the Interior et al. (Gray Wolf Delisting)

April 25, 2022 Court CaseUnited StatesActive

A ruling secured by NRDC and others will save hundreds of wolves nationwide. But the fight to protect them isn’t over.

Migratory Bird Treaty Act Lawsuits

March 1, 2022 Court CaseUnited StatesClosed

To reinstate bedrock protections for more than 1,000 species of birds, NRDC and partners challenged a radical reinterpretation of the MBTA.

Dirty Water Rule

September 1, 2021 Court CaseUnited StatesClosed

The Trump-era rule narrowed the scope of the Clean Water Act by revoking federal protections for countless streams, wetlands, and other waters.

The California WaterFix project

May 13, 2019 Court CaseCaliforniaClosed

The California WaterFix project was no fix at all. In a victory for the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, California abandoned its two-tunnel project in May 2019.

Center for Biological Diversity et al. v. Zinke et al.

February 6, 2018 Court CaseInternational, United States, AfricaClosed

By sanctioning imports of elephant and lion trophies from Zimbabwe, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ignored concerns about illegal poaching. NRDC and partners are fighting for these majestic animals.