UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

┐ F.P. DEVELOPMENT, LLC, │ Plaintiff-Appellee/Cross-Appellant, │ > Nos. 20-1447/1466 │ v. │ │ CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CANTON, MICHIGAN, │ Defendant-Appellant/Cross-Appellee. │ ┘

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Detroit. No. 2:18-cv-13690—George Caram Steeh, III, District Judge.

Argued: June 10, 2021

Decided and Filed: October 13, 2021

Before: COLE, BUSH, and NALBANDIAN, Circuit Judges. _________________

COUNSEL ARGUED: Anne McClorey McLaughlin, ROSATI, SCHULTZ, JOPPICH & AMTSBUECHLER, P.C., Farmington Hills, Michigan, for Appellant/Cross-Appellee. Chance Weldon, TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION, Austin, Texas, for Appellee/Cross- Appellant. Richard K. Norton, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ilya Shapiro, CATO INSTITUTE, Washington, D.C., for Amici Curiae. ON BRIEF: Anne McClorey McLaughlin, ROSATI, SCHULTZ, JOPPICH & AMTSBUECHLER, P.C., Farmington Hills, Michigan, for Appellant/Cross-Appellee. Chance Weldon, Robert Henneke, Theodore Hadzi-Antich, TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION, Austin, Texas, Michael J. Pattwell, CLARK HILL PLC, Lansing, Michigan, for Appellee/Cross-Appellant. Richard K. Norton, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Sean Hammond, MICHIGAN ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL, Lansing, Michigan, Ilya Shapiro, CATO INSTITUTE, Washington, D.C., Robert E. Thall, BAUCKHAM, SPARKS, THALL, SEEBER & KAUFMAN, P.C., Portage, Michigan, Kathryn D. Valois, PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Kimberly S. Hermann, SOUTHEASTERN LEGAL FOUNDATION, Roswell, Georgia, Braden Boucek, THE BEACON CENTER OF Nos. 20-1447/1466 F.P. Dev., LLC. v. Charter Twp. of Canton, Mich. Page 2

TENNESSEE, Nashville, Tennessee, Brian K. Kelsey, LIBERTY JUSTICE CENTER, Chicago, Illinois, for Amici Curiae.

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OPINION _________________

JOHN K. BUSH, Circuit Judge. American history teems with stories and myths of trees. Johnny Appleseed’s apple trees and George Washington’s cherry tree are but a few of those timber tales that inspire and teach. Whether to plant or cut down a tree can be, for better or worse, an individual choice. But sometimes the government gets involved. For example, it can reward those who plant, see, e.g., Timber Culture Act of 1873, ch. 277, 17 Stat. 605 (granting additional land to homesteaders who planted seedlings), or compensate for land taken to conserve, see, e.g., Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929, 16 U.S.C. § 715 et seq. Those “carrot” measures serve to further the public interest in tree cultivation and management while compensating private parties for their property and efforts.

Here, however, the government used what F.P. Development portrays as the “stick” approach. Intending to help preserve its greenery, the Charter Township of Canton, Michigan, passed an ordinance that prohibits F.P. from removing certain trees on its land without a permit and requires F.P. to mitigate the removal. F.P. challenges the regulation, claiming that it constitutes a taking of its prope