Court Won’t Block Military Exercise

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied the Yakama Indian Nation’s emergency appeal to stop a massive Army training exercise.

Judges David Thompson and Thomas Nelson in San Francisco signed the order rejecting the tribe’s appeal.

Tribal attorney Rory Flint-Knife said the tribe would reassess its options today.

“We knew it was an uphill battle to win this,” he said. “It’s just a very rare circumstance in judicial appeals.”

Tribal Council Chairman Jerry Meninick wasn’t very optimistic even before the ruling.

“It would take an act of Congress to stop this training exercise,” Meninick said. “But I believe we got somebody’s attention and we can expand on that.”

The tribe contended the scope of Cascade Sage ‘95, a two-week military exercise that began Tuesday at the Yakima Training Center, violates a memorandum of agreement the Army and tribe signed in 1993 to protect natural and cultural resources.