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.
Kilgore Mine Exploration Followup Case
Case: Idaho Conservation League and Greater Yellowstone Coalition v. U.S. Forest Service
January 10, 2023 — Advocates for the West filed our reply brief on summary judgment. November 1, 2022 — Advocates for the West filed our opening brief in support of a motion for summary judgment. May 26, 2022 — Advocates for the West filed a new complaint challenging the U.S. Forest Service’s latest approval of…
Stanislaus Winter Travel
Case: Motion to Intervene by WildEarth Guardians and California Wilderness Coalition
November 10, 2022 — Advocates for the West filed a reply brief arguing that the Forest Service failed to consider important information and offered conclusions inconsistent with facts in the record regarding over-snow vehicle impacts to Sierra Nevada red fox, Pacific marten, Sierra Nevada yellow- legged frog, and Yosemite toad. The brief also urges the…
Point Reyes National Seashore Followup Case
Case: Resource Renewal Institute, Center for Biological Diversity, and Western Watersheds Project v. National Park Service
January 10, 2022 —Advocates for the West filed a lawsuit challenging the controversial National Park Service management plan for California’s Point Reyes National Seashore, one of a handful of national parks that permits cattle grazing. For decades, the Park Service has leased about 28,000 acres of public lands at Point Reyes National Seashore and the Golden…
Sage Hen Project Logging
Case: Idaho Conservation League v. U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
October 19, 2022 — Advocates for the West reached a settlement requiring the Forest Service to develop an additional alternative with reduced road construction and commercial logging for the Sage Hen Restoration Project on Idaho’s Boise National Forest. December 20, 2021 — Advocates for the West filed a lawsuit on behalf of Idaho Conservation League (ICL)…
Sawtooth National Forest Water Diversions
Case: Idaho Conservation League v. U.S. Forest Service
August 25, 2021 — Advocates for the West secured a victory in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to protect threatened Idaho salmon, steelhead, and bull trout from irrigation water diversions in Idaho’s Sawtooth Valley. The Ninth Circuit decision upholds our lower court win that requires the U.S. Forest Service to consult with experts and protect…
Willamette Basin Water Reallocation
Case: WaterWatch of Oregon Northwest Environmental Defense Center and WildEarth Guardians v. Army Corps of Engineers and R.D. James
July 15, 2021 — Advocates for the West received a strong ruling in our favor when the court issued a draft order outlining the actions that the Army Corps must immediately take to protect threatened salmon and steelhead in the Willamette River. Judge Hernandez made clear he “has no patience for further delay or obfuscation in…
Sonoran Desert National Monument Followup Case
Case: Western Watersheds Project and Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management
August 9, 2023 — Advocates for the West won our lawsuit, halting livestock grazing authorizations in the Sonoran Desert National Monument. For the second time, a judge determined that the Bureau of Land Management relied on faulty information to justify livestock grazing on fragile desert landscapes within the Monument. March 22, 2023 — Advocates for…
Oil & Gas Leases in Sage-Grouse Habitat
Case: Western Watersheds Project and Center for Biological Diversity v. Ryan K. Zinke, David Bernhardt; and BLM
January 5, 2024 — Advocates for the West won a victory upholding our June 2021 Phase Two win suspending new drilling and fracking on 605 federal oil and gas leases. U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Raymond Patricco addressed two motions in his ruling. First, Judge Patricco denied an industry motion effectively seeking to allow the drilling of new…
Suction Dredge Clean Water Act Enforcement
Case: Idaho Conservation League v. Shannon Poe
July 2, 2024 — The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a petition to review prior federal court rulings that found Shannon Poe in violation of the Clean Water Act when he dumped suction dredge mining waste into Idaho’s South Fork of the Clearwater River without a required pollution permit, requiring him to pay a $150,000 fine,…
Northern Corridor Highway through Red Cliffs National Conservation Area
Case: Conserve Southwest Utah, Conservation Lands Foundation, Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, The Wilderness Society, and WildEarth Guardians v. U.S. Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management
December 19, 2024 — The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service signed a Record of Decision to deny a right-of-way for the four-lane Northern Corridor Highway through Red Cliffs National Conservation Area. The decision confirms the federal agencies’ rejection of the Northern Corridor Highway project, which would have torn through critical…
