WE WORK WONDERS for NATURAL WONDERS
When an environmental plight calls for lean and hard-hitting legal muscle, conservation groups, Native American Tribes, and concerned citizens call on us. Advocates for the West boosts the strength of our partners by providing free legal representation in federal court—advancing the mission of every client by putting the power of law and science on the side of the West.
Since our founding in 2003, Advocates for the West has provided free legal support to our partners with an 85% record of success.
Smart and efficient, our attorneys work with partners to develop strategic cases aimed at enforcing the nation’s bedrock environmental laws. We handle an extensive caseload with an impressive win record.
We work wonders to perpetuate natural wonders. We win for the West.
CuMo Mine
Case: Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers Unites, and Golden Eagle Audubon Society v. U.S. National Forest
August 29, 2012 — US District Court Judge Edward Lodge ruled in our favor, finding that the Forest Service was arbitrary and capricious in approving the exploration without first considering the potential for water contamination caused by drilling numerous deep wells in an area littered with historic mining waste. Judge Lodge vacated the Forest Service’s…
Grazing Allotment EA Challenges in ID, WY, UT
Case: Western Watersheds Project, Center for Biological Diversity, Grand Canyon Trust and Utah Environmental Congress v. U.S. Forest Service
February 14, 2013 — U.S. Magistrate Judge Ron Bush ruled in our favor on all 4 challenged decisions allowing the U.S. Forest Service to forgo conducting environmental analysis on 43 grazing allotments in Idaho, Wyoming and Utah. In 2010, Region 4 of the Forest Service renewed grazing permits for hundreds of allotments without conducting any…
Mono Basin Sage-Grouse
Case: Western Watersheds Project and WildEarth Guardians v. Bureau of Land Management
Advocates for the West, and our clients Western Watersheds Project and WildEarth Guardians, are one step closer to improving protections for the Mono-Basin Sage-Grouse, a genetically unique population of the imperiled greater sage-grouse. December 7, 2011 — We filed our opening brief in a lawsuit that challenges BLM’s decision to reauthorize livestock grazing during the summer nesting and brood-rearing season in some…
Spring Valley Wind Energy Facility
Case: Western Watersheds Project, Center for Biological Diversity, Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, Duckwater Shoshone Tribe, and Ely Shoshone Tribe v. Bureau of Land Management
January 25, 2011 — Two conservation groups and three American Indian tribes filed suit to protect a mountain valley adjacent to Great Basin National Park in Nevada from a poorly-sited industrial wind energy project approved by BLM with minimal environmental review. The Spring Valley Wind Energy Project is a mere 4 miles from one of the…
Grazing Challenges on OR Fremont-Winema National Forests
Case: Oregon Natural Desert Association and Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center v. David Sabo and U.S. Forest Service
This case challenges the Forest Service’s authorization of grazing on the Antelope Cattle and Horse allotment of Oregon’s Fremont-Winema National Forests thereby violating the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) and the National Forest Management Act (“NFMA”). A unique, large complex of fens and wetlands occurs on the allotment in the midst of surrounding dry forests….
Ruby Pipeline
Case: Western Watersheds Project, Oregon Natural Desert Association and Ruby Pipeline Agree to Establish Conservation Funds
Ruby settlement established new conservation fund. Advocates for the West recently helped broker an innovative settlement between WWP and El Paso Pipeline Corp. to establish a $15 million Sagebrush Habitat Conservation Fund. The Fund will work to retire grazing permits on a willing seller basis to mitigate for impacts of the 650-mile Ruby natural gas…
Mega-loads on Highway 12
Case: Linwood Laughy et al. v. Conocophillips, Emmert International, and Idaho Transportation Department
As a result of our work, the Conoco transport was delayed for five months and only 1 of the 207 loads envisioned by Exxon traveled on Highway 12. Exxon was forced to cut the remaining loads in half and transport them along other routes. February 23, 2011 — Advocates for the West has filed a…
In Defense of Animals and Craig Downer v. BLM
Case: In Defense of Animals & Craig Downer v. Bureau of Land Management
This case challenges a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) decision to roundup and remove nearly all of the wild free-roaming horses within three horse areas in northeastern Nevada. BLM claims that it needs to remove these horses because they are overgrazing the public lands, although BLM’s own documents show that cows – and not wild…
Greenfire Grazing Permit
Case: Valley Sun, LLC and Western Watersheds Project v. Bureau of Land Management
Advocates for the West represents Valley Sun, LLC and Western Watersheds Project on their challenge to a decision by BLM to cancel the Greenfire Preserve’s grazing permit due to reasons related to lack of grazing. On June 11, 2010, an ALJ granted Valley Sun a stay of BLM’s cancellation decision, citing potential harm identified by…
Central Idaho wolves
Case: Wolf Recovery Foundation and Western Watersheds Project, et al v. U.S. Forest Service and USDA Aphis Wildlife Services
In the second round of this case, Plaintiffs Wolf Recovery Foundation and Western Watersheds Project challenged APHIS Wildlife Services for failing to conduct any environmental analysis of the impacts of its wolf control actions. Wildlife Services kills many wolves each year in the state of Idaho that are believed to have attacked livestock. These wolf…
