The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) won an immediate victory against the Trump administration in court on Saturday.

On Saturday morning, attorneys representing several pseudonymous Venezuelan men sued the government in order to bar the implementation of an obscure 18th-century wartime authority.

President Donald Trump is widely expected to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 in order to bolster his administration’s efforts to fast-track deportations. The ACLU filed their lawsuit, along with Democracy Forward, a D.C.-based nonprofit dedicated to paring back the powers of the executive branch, as a prophylactic measure.

In quick fashion, and at least for now, D.C. District Court Chief Judge James E. Boasberg, a jurist who got his start under George W. Bush and was then promoted by Barack Obama, sided with the plaintiffs.

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Reed Smith plans to open Atlanta office with 37 lawyers from these 2 law firms

By Debra Cassens Weiss

February 5, 2025, 8:52 am CST

Reed Smith announced last week that it is opening an Atlanta office with 33 lawyers from Morris, Manning & Martin and four from Greenberg Traurig.

The group is made up of 15 partners, 20 associates and two counsels who will bring “a wealth of corporate, finance and emerging technology experience to the firm,” according to a Jan. 30 press release. Most of the lawyers will become part of Reed Smith’s global corporate group.

“Our firm is in growth mode,” said Casey Ryan, Reed Smith’s global managing partner, in the press release.

Ryan told Law.com that Reed Smith plans to “grow into a very full-service offering for our clients in the southeast and beyond.”

Thirteen of the partners are from Morris Manning as are 20 other lawyers (18 associates and two counsels), Law.com reports. According to Reuters, Morris Manning lost about 20% of the partners in its Atlanta office as a result of the move. Two partners and two associates are from Greenberg Traurig. A Reed Smith partner is also relocating to Atlanta.

In a statement, Simon Malko, Morris Manning’s managing partner, said the law firm remains in good financial health and committed to growth, according to Reuters.

Reed Smith has added 84 attorneys to its corporate group in the past year, Law360 reports.

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BARSTOW, Calif. — The Bureau of Land Management will implement a temporary closure of public lands from Jan. 30– Feb. 8, 2025, in the Johnson Valley Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area, San Bernardino County, during the annual 2025 King of the Hammers desert race event. The race is authorized by a BLM Special Recreation Permit and the temporary closure is necessary to facilitate public safety and provide an enhanced recreation experience for event participants and spectators.

The BLM approved a five-year public land closure for 10 days a year through 2027. Registered race spectators, participants, and race officials are exempt from the closure. Approximately 81,000 acres of the Johnson Valley Off-highway Vehicle Recreation Area will be temporarily closed to public use and approximately 46,000 acres will be available for public use during the event.

“The BLM’s priority during these large race events is the safety of participants, staff, and spectators,” said BLM California Desert District Manager Shelly Lynch. “Please recreate responsibly and cooperate with race officials and law enforcement officers to ensure a safe and enjoyable race.”

The temporary closure complies with the management plan for the area. Recreation areas nearby will remain open to the public including the Ord-Rodman Limited Use Area and Stoddard Valley Off-highway Vehicle Area. Information and a map of the closure area for the 2025 race event will be posted at the main entry points into the Johnson Valley Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area and available for viewing at the BLM’s California Desert District Office and Barstow Field Office. Download a map of the closure.

 

ALTURAS, Calif. – Fire crews from the Bureau of Land Management Applegate Field Office will conduct prescribed burns in various northeast California and northwest Nevada locations during the fall and winter months. Projects are designed to improve habitat conditions and reduce wildfire risk. They include burning piles of brush and limbs created in fuels reduction projects, and broadcast burns on larger landscapes.

Burning could get underway in mid October and will continue into winter months when fuel and weather conditions allow for safe and successful burning.

“The prescribed burns will help reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire associated with high fuel loading in the Wildland Urban Interface, will improve firefighter safety and effectiveness in the event of a wildfire,” said Craig Drake, manager of the BLM Applegate Field Office in Alturas.  “These burns will also help prevent wildfire damages to natural resources and communities.”

Broadcast burns, which are carefully managed fires across larger areas, include a 490-acre project in the Hogback area near Fall River Mills, a 150-acre project near the community of Cassel, and a four-acre research-related burn in Washoe County, Nevada, east of Fort Bidwell.

Prescribed pile burn locations and details are as follows:

• Modoc Gulch, 4 miles southeast of Dorris, California, piled juniper in a 200-acre project area;
• Vya projects, 20 miles northeast of Fort Bidwell, California, piled juniper in a 1,600-acre area;
• Twin Lakes, 18 miles southeast of Cedarville, California, 700-acre project area of piled juniper;
• Ryegrass Swale, 9 miles south of Alturas, California, 100 acres of piled juniper;
• Nelson Corral, 6 miles northwest of Madeline, California, 50 acres of piled juniper;
• Duck Flat and Tuledad, 20 miles south of Eagleville, California, 2,000 acres of piled juniper;
• Bull Creek, 10 miles east of Cedarville, California, 900 acres of piled juniper;
• Stone Breaker, 5 miles east of Bieber, California, 100 acres of piled juniper; and
• Mt Dome, 12 miles southeast of Dorris, California, 70 acres of piled brush and juniper.

The BLM’s fuels management program conducts a wide variety of management vegetation treatments using mechanical, biological, and chemical tools, prescribed grazing, and prescribed fire. The program includes creating fuel breaks to protect resources and provide safe access for firefighters, and reducing fuel loads by removing trees, shrubs, juniper and invasive species. Projects are also designed to reduce wildfire risk near communities and infrastructure.

Crews conduct prescribed fires in accordance with burn plans that specify allowable weather and fuel conditions, and the personnel and equipment required.

More information is available by contacting the BLM Applegate Field Office at 530-233-4666.

SUSANVILLE, Calif.  – Fire crews from the Bureau of Land Management Eagle Lake Field Office will conduct prescribed burns to reduce hazardous fuels in north of Eagle Lake in Lassen County, beginning Tuesday, Oct 22, and continuing through November 30. Projects will occur only when weather and fuel conditions allow for safe and successful burning.

The Bald Understory Project consists of three burn areas totaling about 500 acres on public lands in the Cleghorn Road area. The first phase will be a carefully managed broadcast burn of 150 to 300 acres just west of the Grasshopper area along State Route 139.   Smoke will be visible from the vicinity of Eagle Lake and to motorists along the route 139 and U. S. Highway 395. Other burns will follow.

“The prescribed burns in this project will help reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire associated with high fuel loading. They will improve firefighter safety and effectiveness in the event of a wildfire,” said Emily Ryan, manager of the BLM Eagle Lake Field Office in Susanville. “These burns will also help prevent wildfire damages to natural resources and help protect communities within the Wildland Urban Interface, where homes are near public lands. The project will also improve wildlife habitat and livestock grazing conditions.”

The BLM conducts prescribed burns conforming to plans that specify allowable weather and fuel conditions, and the personnel and equipment required.

SUSANVILLE, Calif. – The Bureau of Land Management has announced plans to gather and remove excess wild horses from public rangelands in the Twin Peaks Herd Management Area to prevent impacts to rangeland health in Lassen County, Calif., and Washoe County, Nev. Gather operations will begin Tuesday, Oct. 1, and could continue for 15 days or longer.

The BLM plans to gather about 940 wild horses and remove about 870 of those from the rangeland along the California-Nevada border northeast of Susanville. Animals removed will be prepared for placement in private ownership through adoption or sale. Some animals, including mares treated with fertility control, would be returned to the range to maintain herd viability.

Operations will focus on wild horse home ranges in the northern and southern areas of the Twin Peaks HMA. In addition to managing populations within the herd management area, the operation will remove horses that are roaming outside of the HMA boundaries.

“While our gather in 2022 reduced populations, additional removals are needed to bring the population down to the appropriate management level of 448 to 758 wild horses,” said BLM Eagle Lake Field Manager Emily Ryan. “These high populations are causing rangeland degradation in the herd management area, with wild horses using more than their allocated forage and damaging riparian areas, wetlands and cultural resource sites.

Members of the public will be welcome to observe gather operations each day. They must reserve space by calling the gather information line at 530-252-5332 at least a day before they plan to visit. Information on the meeting location and time will be provided on the information line. Observation groups will be limited to 10 persons per day due to limited space for people and vehicles.

Those who plan to visit should plan on spending the entire day at the observation site. There are no nearby services and there will be no cell coverage. Temperatures this time of year may be cold when operations begin at dawn, warming to the 60s and low 70s in the afternoons.

Based on aerial counts earlier this summer and subsequent population modeling, the BLM believes there are about 1,800 wild horses and 140 wild burros in the herd management area that encompasses more than 800,000 acres including approximately 656,000 acres of BLM-managed public land.

The decision to gather excess animals was analyzed in a 2019 environmental assessment covering a 10-year period. The Notice of Decision authorizing the upcoming gather, the 2019 EA, and a determination of adequacy under the National Environmental Policy Act are available online.   

The BLM is responsible under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act for protecting and managing wild horses and burros to protect resources and ensure healthy herds. The agency periodically removes animals from the range when populations exceed levels established to allow the herds to thrive in balance with other users including wildlife and permitted livestock. More information about the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program is available online.

SUSANVILLE, Calif. – The Bureau of Land Management has announced plans to gather and remove excess wild horses from public rangelands in the Twin Peaks Herd Management Area to prevent impacts to rangeland health in Lassen County, Calif., and Washoe County, Nev. Gather operations will begin Tuesday, Oct. 1, and could continue for 15 days or longer.

The BLM plans to gather about 940 wild horses and remove about 870 of those from the rangeland along the California-Nevada border northeast of Susanville. Animals removed will be prepared for placement in private ownership through adoption or sale. Some animals, including mares treated with fertility control, would be returned to the range to maintain herd viability.

Operations will focus on wild horse home ranges in the northern and southern areas of the Twin Peaks HMA. In addition to managing populations within the herd management area, the operation will remove horses that are roaming outside of the HMA boundaries.

“While our gather in 2022 reduced populations, additional removals are needed to bring the population down to the appropriate management level of 448 to 758 wild horses,” said BLM Eagle Lake Field Manager Emily Ryan. “These high populations are causing rangeland degradation in the herd management area, with wild horses using more than their allocated forage and damaging riparian areas, wetlands and cultural resource sites.

Members of the public will be welcome to observe gather operations each day. They must reserve space by calling the gather information line at 530-252-5332 at least a day before they plan to visit. Information on the meeting location and time will be provided on the information line. Observation groups will be limited to 10 persons per day due to limited space for people and vehicles.

Those who plan to visit should plan on spending the entire day at the observation site. There are no nearby services and there will be no cell coverage. Temperatures this time of year may be cold when operations begin at dawn, warming to the 60s and low 70s in the afternoons.

Based on aerial counts earlier this summer and subsequent population modeling, the BLM believes there are about 1,800 wild horses and 140 wild burros in the herd management area that encompasses more than 800,000 acres including approximately 656,000 acres of BLM-managed public land.

The decision to gather excess animals was analyzed in a 2019 environmental assessment covering a 10-year period. The Notice of Decision authorizing the upcoming gather, the 2019 EA, and a determination of adequacy under the National Environmental Policy Act are available online.   

The BLM is responsible under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act for protecting and managing wild horses and burros to protect resources and ensure healthy herds. The agency periodically removes animals from the range when populations exceed levels established to allow the herds to thrive in balance with other users including wildlife and permitted livestock. More information about the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program is available online.

WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is announcing a draft plan to strengthen greater sage-grouse conservation and management on public lands, informed by the best-available science and input from local, state, federal, and Tribal partners. The draft plan is built on decades of partnership, research, and on-the-ground knowledge and experience in maintaining, protecting and restoring healthy sagebrush habitats. 

Greater sage-grouse rely on sagebrush lands for all aspects of their life cycle to meet seasonal needs for food, cover and reproduction. A local population may need up to 40 square miles of intact landscape to stay healthy. Populations once in the millions now number fewer than 800,000, largely due to habitat loss exacerbated by climate change, such as drought, increasing wildfires, and invasive species. Protecting and restoring sagebrush on BLM-managed public lands across the West is critical not just for greater sage-grouse, but also for the health of western communities and other iconic Western species that rely on healthy sagebrush, including mule deer, pronghorn, and the pygmy rabbit. Additionally, these collaboratively developed landscape-level plans will ensure that other multiple uses of BLM sagebrush lands – including clean energy projects – move forward in a manner that limits impacts to sensitive resources and can also help combat climate change—a main driver of greater sage-grouse habitat loss. 

“The majesty of the West and its way of life are at stake. Sagebrush lands are places where people work and play, and they are the headwaters for the West’s major rivers,” said BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning. “Joint efforts to conserve the greater sage-grouse and its habitat led to the largest collaborative conservation effort in our history, and we are building on that work, together with our partners, to ensure the health of these lands and local economies into the future.” 

The BLM manages the largest single share of sage-grouse habitat in the United States—nearly 67 million acres of 145 million total acres. The draft plan offers a range of alternatives for sustainable management of these lands. Balancing a consistent management approach across the range while addressing conditions and policies unique to individual states, BLM will be able to work more effectively with state and local managers to protect and improve sagebrush habitats on public lands.  

Alternatives in the proposal build on the most successful components of the plans that the BLM adopted in 2015 and updated in 2019. The draft plan incorporates new sage-grouse conservation science and lessons learned, accommodating changing resources conditions while increasing implementation flexibility. The agency considered nearly 1,900 comments gathered during an initial public scoping period and information shared by state, local, federal, and Tribal partners in more than 100 meetings.  

The BLM will hold 13 public meetings to answer questions and take further comments on the draft alternatives and analysis. Information on public meetings will be posted in the events column on the main page of the BLM website. 

In addition to actions guided by the greater sage-grouse management plans, the BLM is actively restoring and conserving sagebrush habitat across the West through the Biden Administration’s Investing in America agenda. Annually, the BLM invests approximately $35 million of its congressional appropriation in sagebrush ecosystem projects, supplemented by $123 million from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and complemented by investments by state and local governments, Tribes, stakeholder groups, and private landowners.   

The draft environmental impact statement and plan amendments will open for public comment on March 15, 2024. The comment period will end on June 13, 2024. More information on how to comment on this draft will be posted at https://www.blm.gov/sagegrouse. A final environmental impact statement is expected this fall, followed by Records of Decision in each state.