Blog

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…

By Leonardo Aleksander Ryan The Columbia River Basin is easily one of the most integral parts of the Pacific Northwest because of the cultural and historical significance it holds. In a recent press release, the Nez Perce Tribe heralded a new federal analysis of Columbia River dams’ impacts on Tribes of the area as reinforcing…

Advocates for the West is pleased to provide learning experiences for future environmental leaders through ongoing internship, externship, and clerkship opportunities. We spoke with Meridian Wappett, former Advocates for the West extern and current University of Montana law student, about her passion for, and connection to, the West. Advocates for the West: Will you please…

The literary excerpt contained below was graciously shared by our longtime friend and supporter Pat Cary Peek (pictured at right). Pat’s book, One Winter in the Wilderness, recounts a winter spent with her husband, Dr. James Peek (pictured at left), at the University of Idaho’s Taylor Ranch Field Station within Idaho’s Frank Church-River of No Return…

Sage-Grouse in Idaho Advocates for the West won a significant victory to protect the small and declining eastern Idaho sub-population of the imperiled greater sage-grouse when a federal judge fully vacated a set of approvals by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) authorizing development of the Caldwell Canyon phosphate mine. Phosphate from the mine was slated to be used by…

By Holly Snow Canada (The following first appeared as a letter to the editor in the St. George News.) The iconic red cliff wonderland crowning our city is protected, for now, from a four-lane highway thanks to tens of thousands of public comments and a recent U.S. District Court decision. The proposed Northern Corridor Highway…

Construction and operation of the proposed Stibnite Gold Project under the terms set forth in an air pollution permit issued by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ) would not comply with the federal Clean Air Act. That message was made clear in an August 10 letter from Casey Sixkiller, Regional Administrator for the Environmental…

By Maggie Larson The Columbia River Basin is the crown jewel of the Pacific Northwest. It consists of about 250,000 square miles of rivers and tributaries, including the Snake River which feeds into the Columbia. The Columbia Basin was once home to one of the most abundant salmon runs in the U.S. but has been…

Former Advocates for the West board Chair Lin Laughy delivered the speech below at our 20th anniversary celebration in Boise, ID on June 14, 2023. Lin graciously provided a manuscript of his speech to present as a blog post. Thank you, Lin! Let me tell you a story. Joseph Campbell studied myths from around the…