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EPA critical of state air pollution permit for proposed Stibnite Gold Project
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…
Take Action: Submit a Public Comment Pressing Federal Action on Salmon Protection
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…
Heroes and Helping Hands
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…
No Surprises in Draft Report on Lower Snake River Dams
By Nicola Myers Washington State Governor Jay Inslee and Senator Patty Murray recently released their draft report on replacing services provided by the Lower Snake River Dams. The public is welcome to provide feedback on the report through July 11, 2022 at 5pm PST. A final report will be published later this summer. The report…
Advocates for the West joins call for large-scale sage-grouse protections
Advocates for the West recently joined birdwatchers and bird conservationists from across the country in advocating for the Bureau of Land Management to adopt large-scale protections for sage-grouse in the agency’s current sage-grouse land use planning process. The May 20 letter to Director Tracy Stone-Manning calls for using Areas of Critical Environmental Concern designations, as…
House Dems urge Interior to halt highway through Red Cliffs National Conservation Area
Congress established Utah’s Red Cliffs National Conservation Area in 2009 to protect popular trails, cultural resources, and critical habitat for 20 species of sensitive and threatened wildlife, including Washington County’s iconic and Endangered Species Act-protected Mojave desert tortoise. But in the waning days of the Trump administration, then-Secretary David Bernhardt approved a plan to punch…
Groups urge Biden administration to end undermining of bedrock environmental law
The 20-year Sage Hen Integrated Forest Restoration Project in Idaho is an example of the troubling and illegal trend of “condition-based management” by the U.S. Forest Service. Under this practice, the “where,” “when,” and “how” of logging projects are not evaluated or disclosed until long after the Forest Service has approved them, making it impossible…
Salmon, Steelhead and Dams: Letters to the Editor (May 6 – 12, 2019)
Tell the full storyBorg Hendrickson – Moscow, Idaho To confuse you, dam proponents, including some in Congress, tout Columbia Basin’s Snake River per-dam juvenile salmon survival rate as if it applied accumulatively to the entire waterway. The Army Corps of Engineers cites a per-dam survival rate trending toward 95 percent, which may be true. But it is…
Point Reyes National Feedlot
Today, of the 71,055 acres of federal public land within PRNS, about 18,000 acres are still fully dedicated to the industrial production of domestic livestock by thirty-five private operations.
House Votes to Undermine Environmental Laws at Point Reyes National Seashore to Prioritize Private Cattle Ranching
On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously approved legislation that would enshrine private cattle ranching on 28,000 acres of public lands without any environmental assessment or regard for public opinion. This bill flouts the National Park Service’s obligation to conserve Point Reyes National Seashore lands and protect habitat for endemic tule elk. H.R.6687, introduced…
