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.
Hells Canyon Complex Water Quality
Case: Nez Perce Tribe v. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Petition for Judicial Review
August 31, 2021 – The Nez Perce Tribe reached a settlement agreement with the state of Oregon resolving a case that Advocates for the West filed—along with the Tribe’s Office of Legal Counsel—challenging the state of Oregon’s Clean Water Act section 401 water quality certification for the relicensing of the Hells Canyon Complex. The Hells Canyon Complex, owned…
Bonneville Power Administration Ratemaking
Case: Petition to Intervene with Bonneville Power Administration
December 14, 2018 – BPA granted our motion to intervene, which will give us a real opportunity to dig into the true cost of the Lower Snake River dams. December 11, 2018 – Advocates for the West filed a petition to intervene with the Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA) Joint Power and Transmission Rate Proceeding for the 2020-2021…
BPA–Idaho Accord Extension
Case: Comments on the Draft BPA-Idaho Accord Extension Agreement
September 26, 2018 — Advocates for the West submitted comments on the draft Bonneville Power Administration’s Idaho Accord extension agreement on behalf of Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, Idaho Wildlife Federation and Idaho Chapter of the Sierra Club. August 2018 — We sent a letter to BPA expressing concern over the lack of public notice…
Highway 12 Mega-Loads
Case: Idaho Rivers United v. U.S. Forest Service
February 7, 2013 — Judge Winmill handed down final judgement in favor of Idaho Rivers United and Advocates for the West, ruling that the Forest Service does has the authority to intervene and protect the Wild and Scenic river corridor and that they failed to do so under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968….
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 –…
Lemhi Flood Flows
Case: Snake River Basin Adjudication subcase 74-15051 et seq
We represent conservationist water right holders in the Snake River Basin Adjudication, who are objecting to 294 water right claims for “flood flows” (or “high flows”) by irrigators in the Lemhi River watershed. The Lemhi River and its tributaries are critical habitat for salmon, steelhead and bull trout; and the Lemhi River is historically dried…
Meadow Creek ORVs
Case: The Wilderness Society and Idaho Conservation League v. U.S. Forest Service
Meadow Creek is a major tributary to the Selway River in central Idaho which is a candidate Wild and Scenic river; and it offers some of the best habitat anywhere for endangered salmon, steelhead and bull trout. The Idaho conservation community has long fought to protect Meadow Creek from logging, roads, and other human impacts. Working…
