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.
Kilgore Mine Exploration
Case: Objection Filed
Objections Filed to Stop Gold Mine Exploration in Idaho’s High Divide Extensive drilling and road building would disrupt critical grizzly corridor linking Yellowstone and Northern Rockies On July 2, 2018, Advocates for the West filed objections to the Forest Service’s proposed approval of the Kilgore Exploration Project in the Centennial Mountains in Eastern Idaho. If…
Gold Mining on Conglomerate Mesa
Case: Petition Filed against BLM
On Friday, June 15, Advocates for the West challenged the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) approval of the Perdito Project – a gold mine exploration project that would drill mining holes on Conglomerate Mesa, which is located on California Desert Conservation Lands. Conglomerate Mesa is a spectacularly wild and remote area of the Inyo Mountains…
Oil & Gas Leases in Sage-Grouse Habitat
Case: Western Watersheds Project and Center for Biological Diversity V. Ryan K. Zinke, David Bernhardt; and BLM
April 30, 2018 – Advocates for the West filed a lawsuit challenging Trump Administration policies that gut protections for imperiled greater sage-grouse and allow oil and gas leases on nearly 2 million acres of the bird’s prime habitat. Our suit demonstrates that the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management violated the National Environmental Policy Act and…
Mogollon Rim Cattle Grazing
Case: Neighbors of the Mogollon Rim, Inc. VS. U.S. Forest Service
April 11, 2018: Senior Attorney Laurie Rule teamed up with Arizona attorney Richard Dillenburg to file suit against the U.S. Forest Service for arbitrarily and unlawfully re-opening several allotments to cattle grazing on the Tonto National Forest, at the base of the scenic Mogollon Rim. In 1979, the Tonto National Forest Supervisor closed a portion…
Hells Canyon Spalding’s Catchfly
Case: Case 2:18-cv-00054-SU
Advocates for the West partnered with Jennifer R. Schwartz to file suit on January 10th against the U.S. Forest Service for failing to protect a unique and biologically diverse stretch of Oregon canyon country between the Imnaha and Snake Rivers from livestock grazing impacts. The Forest Service completed its Lower Imnaha Range Analysis (LIRA) – a look at how…
National Monuments FOIA Suit
Case: Advocates for the West Vs. United States Department of Justice, Case No. 17-CV-423
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: Case 1:17-cv-00376-CWD
On September 9, 2017, Advocates for the West filed suit against three Intermountain national forests for being the only in the nation to rubber stamp winter travel decisions that are more than 20 years old rather than create new winter travel plans that regulate snowmobile use based on current conditions and up-to-date science. Since the prior…
Bears Ears National Monument Defense
Case: Memorandum of Understanding
In February 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 assistance…
Red Cliffs and Beaver Dam Wash National Conservation Areas
Case: Motion to Intervene
March 24, 2017, Advocates for the West filed a motion to intervene in the Washington County, Utah appeal of the Final Resource Management Plans (RMP) for the Red Cliffs and Beaver Dam Wash National Conservation Areas (NCA). Earlier in the year, Washington County filed an appeal with the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA), contesting the…
January 27, 2017
Highway 12 Followup Case
Case: 3:13-cv-00348-BLW
In February of 2013, US Chief District Judge Winmill ruled in our favor on a case in which we represented Idaho Rivers United (IRU) against the US Forest Service for their refusal to keep megaloads off Highway 12. The ruling states that, contrary to the USFS’s claims, they do in fact have authority to limit and…
