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.
Idaho state land grazing
Case: Lazy Y Ranch Ltd v. Tracy Berhrens, Marilyn Howard, Keith Johnson, Jim Risch, Lawrence Wasden, Winston Wiggins, Ben Ysursa, Does 1-20, and Geairge Bacon
November of 2009 — The Idaho Land Board agreed to settle that case by revising their regulations to now allow conservation leases of state lands; and promised not to discriminate against conservation applicants in the future. Executive Director Laird Lucas has brought a series of lawsuits against the Idaho State Land Board over the last…
Pahsimeroi Endangered Fish
Case: Western Watersheds Project v. David Rosenkrance, Bureau of Land Management, William Wood, U.S. Forest Service, Jeffery Foss, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, David Mabe, and NOAA Fisheries
The Pahsimeroi Valley contains key habitat for three species of Endangered Species Act-listed fish: bull trout, chinook salmon, and steelhead. Yet BLM and Forest Service have not conducted monitoring and habitat improvements as required by their own ESA consultation, which is now very outdated. Their failure to meet fish habitat requirements or to consult over…
Lemhi Endangered Fish
Case: Western Watersheds Project v. William Wood, U.S. Forest Service, Steve Hartmann, Bureau of Land Management, Jeffery Foss, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and David Mabe, and NOAA Fisheries
Advocates for the West filed three new cases in June and July 2009 for client Western Watersheds Project, suing the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management over their legal violations in managing public lands in the Pahsimeroi and Lemhi watersheds of central Idaho. The Pahsimeroi and Lemhi watersheds offer vital habitat for endangered fish –…
Grouse, Meadow, Rock, & Trail Creek grazing allotments
Case: Western Watersheds Project v. David Rosenkrance and Bureau of Land Management
The Court ordered BLM to develop a new Environmental Assessment (EA) and new grazing decisions within one year or grazing cannot continue. January 5, 2011 — Judge Lodge ruled in our favor on all three of our claims under the National Environmental Policy Act: that BLM failed to take a “hard look” at impacts to…
Burnt Creek Grazing Allotment
Case: Western Watersheds Project v. David Rosenkrance and Bureau of Land Management
July of 2010 — The U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho agreed that BLM’s new decision failed to take account of the wilderness values of the Burnt Creek Wilderness Study Area, and declared it to be in violation of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. We’ve received a victory in our challenge…
Pleasantview allotment
Case: Idaho Conservation League and Western Watersheds Projects v. Steele
The Pleasantview allotment covers 70,000 acres of mostly public lands near Malad City, in southeast Idaho. It offers habitat for greater sage-grouse, Columbia sharp-tail grouse, and other imperiled species; yet BLM has allowed excessive livestock grazing to badly damage the uplands and stream bottoms. Weeds and alien species are spreading, aided by livestock overgrazing of native…
Kemmerer sheep grazing
Case: Western Watersheds Project v. Bureau of Land Management, J.R. Broadbent Grazing Assoc., LLC
August 15, 2008 — An Administrative Law Judge with the Dept. of Interior’s Office of Hearings and Appeals agreed with us that BLM thus violated NEPA in approving the grazing permits; and ordered them reversed and remanded with instructions for BLM to prepare a full environmental analysis. The Granger and Carter Lease allotments encompass 720,000…
Bighorn National Forest Plan
Case: Western Watersheds Project v. U.S. Forest Service
The Bighorn National Forest in Wyoming has only a relic population of bighorn sheep, which die when they come into contact with domestic sheep grazing on the public lands. Yet the Forest Service continues to authorize sheep grazing in bighorn habitat, and did not evaluate grazing alternatives to the status quo when it recently revised…
Soldier Meadows
Case: Committee for the High Desert and Western Watersheds Project v. Robert V. Abbey Kathleen Clarke, and Bureau of Land Management
The 330,00-acre Soldier Meadows allotment lies adjacent to the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada; and includes parts of the recently-designated Black Rock wilderness and other new wilderness areas. Soldier Meadows also has numerous springs and streams occupied by endangered fish species, including the Lahontan cutthroat trout and desert dace. Yet BLM has allowed livestock grazing to…
Squaw Valley/Spanish Ranch
Case: Western Watersheds Project v. Bureau of Land Management and Barrick Goldstrike Mines, Inc
This administrative appeal before the Office of Hearings and Appeals in the Department of Interior challenged BLM’s authorization of grazing on the Squaw Valley and Spanish Ranch allotments of northern Nevada, where Barrick Goldstrike — a major gold mining company — has purchased several ranches and is running livestock on them. Following an evidentiary hearing, the…
