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Sage-grouse and the Sagebrush Sea We won a significant victory in our sweeping case challenging thousands of oil and gas leases in sage-grouse habitats. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the first Trump administration illegally approved hundreds of oil and gas leases on public lands in “Phase One” of our…

By Meredith Diamond Last month, Perpetua Resources held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Stibnite Mining District within Idaho’s South Fork Salmon River watershed, with Idaho Governor Brad Little, U.S. Army Major General John Reim, and U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Undersecretary Kristin Sleeper in attendance. That same day, the U.S. Forest Service issued a conditional…

At Advocates for the West, we’re increasing our capacity to meet the moment. Join us in welcoming our newest Staff Attorney Margaret Parker, along with our fall 2025 law extern and intern. Welcome Margaret ParkerStaff Attorney Margaret (she/her) received her J.D. and Master of Public Policy from the University of California Berkeley School of Law…

On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed into law the “One Bill Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBA), ushering in sweeping spending cuts on social services to pay for huge tax cuts for billionaires and investments in border “security.” The bill guts clean energy tax credits, vehicle fuel efficiency standards, environmental protections, and pollution-reduction programs. Its rollbacks…

Advocates for the West has a long track record of assisting our partners in sustaining healthy human, plant, and animal communities by increasing the legal capacity of conservation organizations and Tribes. We’re thrilled to further that commitment through a new partnership with Central Oregon LandWatch, whose mission is rooted in the idea that vibrant communities…

As Congress continues to consider the “Big, Beautiful” reconciliation legislation, Advocates for the West has joined conservation allies nationwide in signing a unified position paper opposing any potential provisions within the bill to transfer or sell public lands. While western legislators in the House of Representatives successfully removed such provisions from the House version of…

Advocates for the West recently joined Earthjustice and conservation organizations from across the country to raise objections to the Department of the Interior’s Emergency National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Procedures, announced on April 23, and to the Council on Environmental Quality letter of the same date authorizing those alternative arrangements. The Emergency Procedures are premised on…

Lauren Block  Summer Law Clerk Lauren (she/her) is a rising 3L at the University of Washington, where she serves as Co-President of the Environmental Law Society and is the incoming Executive Managing Editor of the Washington Law Review. She spent her 1L summer clerking for the Washington Attorney General’s Office in the Environmental Protection Division, assisting…

This winter solstice, we hope you enjoy the literary excerpt and poem contained below, graciously shared by our friend and supporter Marina Richie. Marina is a proud tree hugger, wilderness advocate, and author of Halcyon Journey, In Search of the Belted Kingfisher, winner of the 2024 John Burroughs Medal and a 2022 National Outdoor Book Award. Her articles, essays,…

Wyoming’s Powder River Basin The massive Converse County Oil and Gas Project in the Powder River basin of eastern Wyoming threatens the survival of sage-grouse and birds of prey and is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful air pollutants. We won a significant victory halting the 5,000-well project until the Bureau of…