WE WORK WONDERS for NATURAL WONDERS
When an environmental plight calls for lean and hard-hitting legal muscle, conservation groups call on us. Advocates for the West boosts the strength of environmental nonprofits and concerned citizens – advancing the mission of every partner 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 over 35 partners on more than 170 cases – 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 (link to wins list) record.
We work wonders to perpetuate natural wonders. It’s how the West is won.
July 11, 2016
CuMo Mining Exploration Project
Case: Idaho Conservation League et al VS U.S. Forest Service
Advocates for the West is continuing to fight the CuMo Mining Exploration Project in the Boise River watershed. In 2011, we successfully challenged the Forest Service’s approval of CuMo’s intensive plan to build roads, drill pads, and waste pits and to conduct 24/7 drilling in the headwaters of Grimes Creek, a tributary to Mores Creek…
Ada County Fairgrounds Stormwater Pollution
Case: Ada County Fairgrounds Stormwater Pollution
On December 2, 2015, Advocates for the West sent a notice of intent to sue notifying Ada County that it must obtain Clean Water Act permits for stormwater discharges to the Boise River from the Expo Idaho Property. Once one of the most polluted rivers in Idaho, the Boise River has been substantially cleaned up….
East Boulder Creek Gold Mining
Case: Idaho Conservation League v. U.S. Forest Service, Case No. 4:15-cv-284 (D. Idaho)
Advocates for the West is challenging the Forest Service’s decision to approve gold mining in the Napoleon Ridge Roadless Area on East Boulder Creek without studying the environmental impacts. East Boulder Creek is a tributary to the main Salmon River and is located approximately 11 miles west of North Fork, Idaho. On July 10, the…
October 7, 2015
Big Wood River Flows
Case: In the Matter of Application for Permits Nos. 37-22682 & 37-22852 in the name of Innovative Mitigation Solutions, LLC
Advocates for the West is working with the Idaho Conservation League (ICL) to protect flows on Idaho’s famous Big Wood River from a private scheme to make money off of unsustainable water use. Innovative Mitigation Solutions (IMS) applied for a water right to divert 154 CFS of water out of the Big Wood and dump…
Keeping Nuke Waste Out of Idaho
Case: Nuke Waste Notice Letter
On March 5, 2015, Advocates for the West announced it would be representing former Idaho governors Cecil D. Andrus and Philip E. Batt in a call to the State of Idaho and the federal Department of Energy to fully disclose their plans for shipments of commercial spent nuclear fuel to the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Representing the Governors, Director of Litigation Laird Lucas sent…
FOIA Suit Against DOE
Case: Governor Andrus vs. DOE
September 29, 2015- Advocates for the West filed suit against the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on behalf of former Democratic Governor Cecil D. Andrus in an effort to force the federal agency to comply with the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and publicly share information DOE has refused to release relating to proposed shipment of commercial spent…
Canyon of the Ancients Grazing
Case: Canyon of the Ancients Grazing
On August 11th, 2015, Advocates for the West’s Staff Attorney Elizabeth Zultoski filed a protest against the Bureau of Land Management’s proposed decision to issue new 10-year grazing permits in Colorado’s famed Canyon of the Ancients National Monument. Canyon of the Ancients includes 170,965 acres in the Four Corners region of southwest Colorado and contains “the highest known density of archaeological sites in…
Oregon Spotted Frog Habitat Protection
Case: Oregon Spotted Frog Habitat Protection
On July 21, 2015, Advocates for the West’s Senior Attorney Laurie Rule and Staff Attorney Lizzy Zultoski submitted a notice of intent to sue the Bureau of Reclamation on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity. The notice letter alleges that the agency’s operation and maintenance of the Wickiup and Crane Prairie dams on the Deschutes River in Central Oregon…
Oregon Lost River and Shortnose Sucker Habitat Protection
Case: Oregon Wild, Friends of Living Oregon Waters, and Western Watersheds Project v. Constance Cummins, U.S. Forest Service, Laurie R. Sada, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
July 22, 2015, Advocates for the West’s Senior Attorney Laurie Rule and Staff Attorney Lizzy Zultoski partnered with David H. Becker to file a complaint on behalf of clients Oregon Wild, Friends of Living Oregon Waters, and Western Watersheds Project in U.S. District Court in Medford, Oregon over grazing in the Fremont-Winema National Forest. The…
Idaho Wildlife Services FOIA Lawsuit
Case: Western Watersheds Project v. USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services
On June 22, 2015, Advocates for the West filed a lawsuit in Idaho federal court on behalf of Western Watersheds Project against Wildlife Services to force the agency to disclose information about its wildlife-killing methods and activities in Idaho. The lawsuit alleges numerous violations of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). FOIA is a federal law that…
