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.
National Monuments FOIA Suit
Case: Advocates for the West v. United States Department of Justice
October 12, 2017 – Advocates for the West is representing itself in a suit filed today by Senior Attorney Todd Tucci against Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Department of Justice, seeking disclosure of unlawfully withheld documents demonstrating that President Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke lack authority to vacate or shrink Bears Ears National Monument, Grand Staircase Escalante…
Winter Travel Plan Follow-up Case
Case: Winter Wildlands Alliance and WildEarth Guardians v. U.S. Forest Service
March of 2018 — The Forest Service withdrew its winter travel maps and committed to conduct winter travel planning on each of the three forests listed in our case – the Boise and Payette National Forests in Idaho and a portion of the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming. We agreed to dismiss the case based…
Galena Mine Clean Water Notice of Intent to Sue
Case: Notice Of Intent To Sue U.S. Silver-Idaho, Inc. and Americas Silver Corporation Over Violations of the Clean Water Act
April 19, 2018 — Advocates for the West reached a settlement agreement with U.S. Silver over its violations. May 17, 2017 — Advocates for the West sent a notice of intent to sue to U.S. Silver and its parent corporation Americas Silver Corp., who own and operate the Galena Mine in the Silver Valley of…
Bears Ears National Monument Defense
Case: Memorandum of Understanding to Provide Legal Advice and Representation to Conservation Lands Foundation
February of 2017 — We entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Conservation Lands Foundation (CLF) to provide legal advice and representation in defending National Monuments and other parts of the National Conservation Lands System (NCLS) in the face of threats from the Trump Administration. Senior Attorney Todd Tucci is leading this work, with…
Idaho Wildlife Services 2017 FOIA
Case: Western Watersheds Project v. USDA APHIS Wildlife Services
Finding out What Wildlife Services is up to in our State Advocates for the West filed suit on behalf of Western Watersheds Project, challenging Wildlife Services’ failure to adequately and timely respond to two Freedom of Information Act requests seeking information about Wildlife Services’ activities in Idaho. In both cases, Wildlife Services failed to fully…
Salmon River Suction Dredging
Case: Notice of Intent to Sue for Clean Water Act Violations
May 8, 2017 — Advocates for the West sent a notice of intent to sue to a suction dredge miner for discharging sediment and other pollutants in Idaho’s Salmon River without a Clean Water Act permit. Suction dredge miner Donald Smith has applied for a riverbed mineral lease from the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL). If…
Wildlife Services Wolf-Killing in Idaho
Case: Western Watersheds Project, Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Clearwater, WildEarth Guardians, and Predator Defense
March 11, 2020 — Advocates for the West and our allies secured a strong victory in this case in an agreement that sets strict limits on how and where a federal agency can kill wolves in Idaho, bans the use of M-44 “cyanide bombs” statewide, and prohibits the use of snares to kill wolves on…
Highway 12 Followup Case
Case: Nez Perce Tribe and Idaho Rivers United v. U.S. Forest Service
January 27, 2017 — Advocates for the West finalized a settlement agreement with the U.S. Forest Service restricting mega-load shipments on U.S. Highway 12 to protect the Lochsa and Middle Fork Clearwater Wild and Scenic Rivers. The settlement resolves a 2013 federal court lawsuit that we filed for Idaho Rivers United, along with the Nez Perce Tribe….
Atlanta Gold Followup Case
Case: Idaho Conservation League and Northwest Environmental Defense Center
September 19, 2019 — Chief Magistrate Judge Ronald E. Bush found that Atlanta Gold still has not fully complied with its clean water permit or prior court orders to do so. This action is the latest in a series of suits we first filed in 2011 to force Atlanta Gold to comply with the Clean…
Grazing on Idaho’s East Fork of the Salmon
Case: Western Watersheds Project v. U.S. Forest Service
July 7, 2017 — We entered into a settlement agreement with the Forest Service to close the allotments to grazing during 2017 and 2018 – and no livestock will be allowed to return until stream health standards for trout and salmon are fully met. October 12, 2016 — We filed suit challenging the Forest Service’s status…
