Sierra Club v. Morton Case Brief Summary | Law Case Explained

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Sierra Club v. Morton | 405 U.S. 727 (1972)

The Mineral King Valley lies in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the Sequoia National Forest. Though it was once the site of mining operations, by the 1960s Mineral King was most often visited by campers seeking great natural beauty. Sierra Club versus Morton is the story of environmentalists who tried to stop Disney from building a ski resort in this pristine wilderness.

In 1965, the United States Forest Service granted Walt Disney Enterprises a permit to prepare a plan for a major ski resort in Mineral King. In 1969, Disney presented a plan for an eighty-acre complex of motels, restaurants, parking lots, and ski facilities that could accommodate fourteen thousand visitors a day. The plan would require a new highway and high-voltage line through Sequoia National Park.

The Sierra Club sued the secretary of the interior in federal district court seeking injunctions to stop the project. It sued as a membership corporation with a, quote, “special interest in the conservation and the sound maintenance of the national parks, game refuges, and forests of the country,” unquote. It claimed standing under the judicial-review provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act.

The district court determined that the Sierra Club had standing to sue and granted a preliminary injunction. The Ninth Circuit reversed, finding nothing in the Sierra Club’s complaint alleging that the club members would be affected by Disney’s actions beyond personal distaste for the development. It held that without a showing of more direct interest, the club didn’t have standing to sue cabinet-level officials. The United States Supreme Court granted cert.

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