Robertson, Chief of the Forest Service, et al. v. Methow Valley Citizens Council et al.

Decided May 1, 1989. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 87-1703 · 490 U.S. 332 (1989) · Cited 1,465 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Kleppe v. Sierra Club · 427 U.S. 390 (1976)
• Andrus v. Sierra Club · 442 U.S. 347 (1979)
• Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 462 U.S. 87 (1983)
• Udall v. Tallman · 380 U.S. 1 (1965)
• Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 435 U.S. 519 (1978)
• Bowles v. Seminole Rock & Sand Co. · 325 U.S. 410 (1945)
• General Electric Co. v. Gilbert · 429 U.S. 125 (1976)
• Lyng v. Payne · 476 U.S. 926 (1986)
• Strycker's Bay Neighborhood Council, Inc. v. Karlen · 444 U.S. 223 (1980)
• Weinberger v. Catholic Action of Hawaii/Peace Education Project · 454 U.S. 139 (1981)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 555 U.S. 7 (2008)
• Department of Transportation v. Public Citizen · 541 U.S. 752 (2004)
• Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife · 504 U.S. 555 (1992)
• Kisor v. Wilkie · 588 U.S. 558 (2019)
• Federal Express Corp. v. Holowecki · 552 U.S. 389 (2008)
• Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Assn. · 575 U.S. 92 (2015)
• Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County · 605 U.S. 168 (2025)
• Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms · 561 U.S. 139 (2010)
• Auer v. Robbins · 519 U.S. 452 (1997)
• Stinson v. United States · 508 U.S. 36 (1993)
• Christopher v. Smithkline Beecham Corp. · 567 U.S. 142 (2012)
• Long Island Care at Home, Ltd. v. Coke · 551 U.S. 158 (2007)
• Norfolk Southern Railway Co. v. Shanklin · 529 U.S. 344 (2000)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).