Opponents to Yellowstone's historic bioprospecting benefit-sharing agreement abandoned the case in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in December 2000, making Judge Royce Lamberth's April 2000 decision that upheld Yellowstone's bioprospecting initiative the law of the land. Rejecting the opponents' claims, Judge Lamberth ruled that the agreement is "proper" and "does not conflict with the conservation mandate." The opponents, who lost their substantive case in the federal trial court, dropped the appeal shortly after the Department of Justice filed the National Park Service (NPS) brief supporting Judge Lamberth's decision upholding Yellowstone's first bioprospecting benefit-sharing agreement.

WFED assisted the Justice Department with the federal appellate brief, as well as during the final stages of the federal trial court proceedings.

In accordance with Judge Lamberth's earlier decision, the National Park Service (NPS) has begun conducting an environmental analysis to evaluate the impacts of bioprospecting benefit-sharing agreements in US national parks. WFED believes that this review represents the first nationwide study of the environmental impacts of bioprospecting benefit-sharing activities ever undertaken by any country.

For more information about the study, consult the NPS website.