Conservationists and tribes urge US appeals court to block Biden-backed Nevada lithium mine

By SCOTT SONNER
Associated Press

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Environmentalists and tribes are urging a U.S. appeals court to overturn a judge’s decision that allowed construction to begin on a huge lithium mine in Nevada. An environmental lawyer told a three-judge panel that the U.S. judge in Reno abused her discretion when she concluded federal land managers had illegally approved parts of the mining plan but allowed it to go forward anyway. He says thousands of acres of sage brush habitat for sage grouse and other species is “essentially being clear-cut.” Lawyers for the agency that approved the mine and the mining company denied the project would cause any serious harm to species.