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.
Eugene Water and Electric Board Endangered Species Act Violations
Case: Cascadia Wildlands, Willamette Riverkeeper, Oregon Wild, and Native Fish Society v. Eugene Water and Electric Board
June 30, 2025 — Advocates for the West presented oral argument in support of our motion for preliminary injunction, while our partners at Public Justice argued against EWEB’s motion to dismiss. May 16, 2025 — Advocates for the West filed a motion for preliminary injunction and memorandum in support. We’re seeking an order from the…
Stibnite Gold Project Approval
Case: Save the South Fork Salmon, Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, Earthworks, Center for Biological Diversity, and American Rivers v. U.S. Forest Service, et al.
December 1, 2025 — Advocates for the West and our partners filed our reply brief to federal defendants’ and mining company Perpetua Resources’ response briefs to our motion for summary judgment. August 15, 2025 — Advocates for the West and our partners filed a motion for summary judgment, opening brief, and statement of facts in…
State and Industry Challenges to Public Lands Rule
Case: States of Utah and Wyoming v. Deb Haaland, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Conservation Lands Foundation, and The Wilderness Society
October 1, 2024 — Advocates for the West and our partners at Conservation Lands Foundation, The Wilderness Society, and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance filed a motion to intervene to defend BLM’s Public Lands Rule against yet another lawsuit brought this past summer by the American Farm Bureau and other industry trade associations representing the oil…
Antelope Allotment: FOIA Records Request
Case: Western Watersheds Project vs. U.S. Forest Service
October 15, 2024 — Advocates for the West favorably settled this case. June 20, 2024 — Advocates for the West filed suit under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to compel the U.S. Forest Service to release public records as required by law. The case involves two separate FOIA requests sent to the Forest Service regarding…
Stibnite Mine Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification
Case: Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, Save the South Fork Salmon, and Earthworks v. Idaho Department of Environmental Quality
March 25, 2025 — In response to our appeal of a water quality permit issued for the proposed Stibnite Gold Mine due to its inadequacy to protect water quality in the South Fork Salmon River watershed, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is seeking to revisit the permit to address multiple shortcomings. After Advocates…
Pawnee National Grassland Oil & Gas Drilling
Case: Center for Biological Diversity v. Keith E. Berger, in his official capacity as Field Manager for the U.S. Bureau of land Management's Royal Gorge Field Office, and Bureau of Land Management
August 22, 2025 — Advocates for the West filed briefs opposing renewed motions to dismiss filed by the Bureau of Land Management and industry intervenors. June 11, 2025 — Advocates for the West filed an amended petition for review of agency action in this case. September 27, 2024 — Advocates for the West filed our…
NEXT Refinery and Railyard Rivers and Harbors Act Violation
Case: Columbia Riverkeeper and 1000 Friends of Oregon v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
January 8, 2025 — In response to the lawsuit brought by Advocates for the West and our partners, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined that NEXT Renewable Fuels, Inc.’s current proposal to construct a diesel refinery at Port Westward requires another major federal permit. Construction for NEXT’s proposed refinery and rail yard would involve driving heavy…
Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge Grazing Mismanagement
Case: WildEarth Guardians and Western Watersheds Project v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
December 15, 2025 — A Montana federal court judge issued a ruling granting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s plan to reevaluate its determination justifying livestock grazing at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Montana’s Centennial Valley, to reconsider its grazing permit approach, and to reevaluate the environmental impacts of commercial cattle grazing at…
Crooked River Water Rights
Case: Upper Crooked River Conservationists and Shotgun Ranch, LLC v. Water Resources Department of the State of Oregon and Water Resources Commission of the State of Oregon
February 11, 2025 — Advocates for the West won a victory to protect fish and wildlife in Oregon’s Crooked River. The Crook County Circuit Court rejected several ranchers’ attempt to invalidate the water right issued by the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) to protect flows for fish and wildlife in the lower Crooked River. The…
Owyhee Military Airspace Expansion
Case: Oregon Natural Desert Association, Friends of the Nevada Wilderness, and Idaho Conservation League v. U.S. Department of the Air Force
February 4, 2026 — Advocates for the West filed our motion for summary judgment, challenging the U.S. Air Force’s July 2023 Record of Decision (ROD) and March 2023 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to expand and intensify its military trainings using F-15 fighter jets over 7.5 million acres in the Owyhee Canyonlands. Our brief argues that…
