LAND in the WEST
In the West, there is an unmistakable feeling of openness. That call of the wild. That sense that this belongs to all of us. As, in truth, it does. With over 350 million acres of public lands in the West, this land is our land.
The American West is home to some of the most biologically diverse and beautiful regions in the world. From the Northern Rockies, to the Sierras and Cascades, to the vast Sagebrush Sea, the singular nature of each place in the West’s public lands unfolds a boundless variety of wonder.
The inherent possibility in the wild nature of the West is limitless – we consider it our sacred trust to ensure public lands are here to benefit many generations to come.
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…
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
January 22, 2024 — Advocates for the West filed suit challenging the Air Force’s decision to expand and intensify its military trainings using F-15 fighter jets over Wilderness Areas and Wild and Scenic Rivers in the Owyhee Canyonlands of Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada, threatening key sage-grouse strongholds, as well as bighorn sheep and other wildlife….
Air Force Owyhee Airspace Optimization: FOIA Records Request
Case: Idaho Conservation League v. U.S. Air Force
October 10, 2023 — Advocates for the West filed suit under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to compel Mountain Home Air Force Base to release public records as required by law. The records relate to the Air Force’s proposal to expand and intensify military aircraft trainings over the Owyhee Canyonlands of southwestern Idaho, southeastern Oregon,…
Bureau of Land Management Rangeland Degradation
Case: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and Western Watersheds Project v. Debra Haaland, Tracy Stone-Manning, and U.S. Bureau of Land Management
September 13, 2023 — Advocates for the West filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for its failure to abide by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act to determine the prioritization and timing of environmental analyses for livestock grazing allotments on public…
Big Creek Airstrips
Case: Wilderness Watch, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Friends of the Clearwater, and Friends of the Bitterroot v. Linda Jackson, Mary Farnsworth, and United States Forest Service
June 20, 2023 — Advocates for the West filed a lawsuit challenging the Forest Service’s unlawful decisions to improve and expand four locations in Idaho’s Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness for aircraft landings and to permit hobby pilots to use these sites for motorized recreation. The Central Idaho Wilderness Act, which designated the River…
Redfish Lake Cell Tower
Case: Petition for Environmental Review of AT&T Proposed Tower in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area Near Redfish Lake, ID
January 27, 2024 — Advocates for the West filed an Application for Review, asking the Federal Communications Commission to review the denial of our Petition for Environmental Review and to require an Environmental Impact Statement or Environmental Assessment in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act for AT&T’s proposal to construct a commercial cell tower…
Stibnite Mine Air Quality Permit
Case: Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho Conservation League, and Save the South Fork Salmon v. Idaho Department of Environmental Quality
October 4, 2024 — Advocates for the West and our partners filed two expert declarations in our case challenging the air pollution permit issued, and later invalidated, for the proposed Stibnite Gold Mine. The Idaho Board of Environmental Quality has remanded the permit to a hearing officer for additional consideration of Idaho Department of Environmental…
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)…
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…
