Also known as: natural resources
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A material from nature having potential economic value or providing for the sustenance of life, such as timber, minerals, oil, water, and wildlife. Environmental features that serve a community's well-being or recreational interests also qualify when the law treats their protection as equivalent to safeguarding extractive assets.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Neville Norton, an in-state bait dealer, obtains a preliminary injunction against a state statute that bars export of live baitfish harvested from local waters. The court finds the prohibition reserves the natural resource for in-state purchasers and therefore discriminates against interstate commerce. Norton resumes direct sales to out-of-state fishing outfitters once the ban is lifted.
Nimbus Cloud, operator of a proposed reactor, seeks a license that would withdraw river water classified as a natural resource for cooling. The reviewing agency imposes conditions to protect downstream fisheries. Nimbus challenges the conditions as exceeding statutory authority over the resource.
Nathan Nguyen, owner of a processing plant, faces a federal code that limits discharge of processing waste into a nearby stream treated as a natural resource. The code requires on-site treatment before any release. Nguyen argues the requirement exceeds congressional power to regulate local production affecting the resource.
Nina Nielsen, a frequent visitor to a proposed ski resort site, joins a suit alleging that development will destroy a natural resource used for recreation. The complaint asserts injury from loss of scenic and wildlife values. The court examines whether Nielsen's use of the resource confers standing to challenge the permit.
Nadia Novak, a commercial fisherman, seeks punitive damages after an oil spill contaminates fishing grounds recognized as a natural resource. The jury awards compensation for lost harvests and additional punitive sums. The court later reviews whether the punitive award properly accounts for harm to the shared resource.
Neil Nair, owner of undeveloped parcels along a lake, challenges a multi-year building moratorium imposed to protect water quality and scenic views treated as natural resources. The ordinance prevents all construction during the planning period. Nair claims the delay constitutes a taking of property rights in the resource-adjacent land.
Courts grant injunctions when the resource is unique or fragile and money cannot adequately restore public uses such as recreation or ecological function. The threatened loss of a protected wetland or fishery is treated as irreparable because restoration may be impossible or incomplete. Difficulty quantifying the harm strengthens the case for equitable relief.
Yes when the ban reserves the resource for in-state buyers and lacks a non-protectionist justification. The prohibition must be examined for discriminatory purpose or effect even if framed as conservation. Facially neutral alternatives that apply equally to in-state and out-of-state transactions are less likely to be struck down.
…Ruth Solomon and Joyce Holmes Benjamin; for Designated California Cities and Counties by E. Clement Shute, Jr.; and for the Natural Resources Defense Council et al. by Fredric D. Woocher. Briefs of amici curiae were filed for the California Association of Realtors by William M. Pfeiffer; and for the National Association…
…"controlling weight unless [it is] arbitrary, capricious, or manifestly contrary to the statute." Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. , 467 U. S. 837, 844 (1984). In this case, we conclude, the Commission's assessment is none of these. In adopting the "disclose or abstain" rule, the SEC…
…power; to reduce and relieve unemployment; to improve standards of labor; and otherwise to rehabilitate industry and to conserve natural resources
…reiterated the three requirements that constitute the " irreducible constitutional minimum'" of standing. Vermont Agency of Natural Resources
…the State of Alaska for environmental harms ended with a consent decree for Exxon to pay at least $900 million toward restoring natural resources
A plaintiff must show concrete injury from impairment of the resource, such as loss of recreational or aesthetic use. Generalized harm to the public at large is insufficient. When the resource is protected for public enjoyment, individual plaintiffs who regularly use it can satisfy the injury requirement.
Yes for the immediate sale or lease transaction itself. The state may charge different prices or impose different terms on out-of-state buyers when it is selling its own resource. Downstream conditions that regulate post-sale processing or resale across state lines fall outside the market-participant safe harbor.