United States v. Hoyte

The First Circuit held that the Wildlife Restoration Act regulations give the USFWS discretion in how to respond to an alleged conversion of property funded by the Act. The Court also found no NEPA violation because federal officials did not have a duty to review the State's grant of the easements.

The New Hampshire Supreme Court agreed with the trial court, holding that a revocable conservation easement was not perpetual and did not qualify the landowner for any tax abatement.

The State and Elbe settled the matter with prejudice, and Elbe agreed to pay $4,000 in damages and to not farm the disturbed area. The settlement did not require Elbe to restore the damaged wetlands

The 64,000-square-mile Chesapeake Bay Watershed is in the midst of an epic, unprecedented effort to reverse the impacts of pollution and restore healthier water quality to the region’s more than 100,000 rivers and streams and to the bay itself. A key factor in that effort is land.