Donald C. Winter, et al.
Petitioners
Gregory G. Garre, U.S.Solicitor General The U.S. Navy scheduled a series of up to 14 certification exercises off the coast of Southern California, fromFebruary 2007through January2009, to prepare naval strike groups for deployment in the Western Pacific andthe Middle East. During these exercises, the Navy planned on having ships usemid-frequency active (MFA) sonar, which some studies have shown can be harmfulto marine mammals. On March 22, 2007, a group of environmental organizationsled by the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) filed suit against Secretaryof the Navy Donald C. Winter and six other Federal agencies and officials inFederal district court, contending…