The historic Mineral King Valley case showcases the Sierra Club's battle against Disney's ski resort development, marking a pivotal moment in American environmental activism. Before 1972, private groups were not actively enforcing environmental protection laws in court. This changed dramatically with a Supreme Court showdown between the Sierra Club and Disney, setting a legal precedent for future environmental advocacy. The backdrop of this struggle is the environmental movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, as the US Forest Service, Disney, and the Sierra Club navigated a rapidly evolving political landscape. Disney's ambitious development plan, proposed in 1965 and approved in 1969, threatened to transform the pristine Mineral King Valley in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Initially, the plan garnered widespread support from officials and the media, suggesting an inevitable shift of this untouched land to private ownership. However, the Sierra Club's determined lawsuit challenged this notion, empowering interest groups to litigate against environmentally harmful projects. Daniel P. Selmi, an expert in environmental law, provides a comprehensive account of this groundbreaking legal battle and its lasting impact, which resonates nearly 50 years later.
