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.
February 27, 2020
Oil & Gas Leases in Sage-Grouse Habitat
Case: Western Watersheds Project and Center for Biological Diversity V. Ryan K. Zinke, David Bernhardt; and BLM
February 27, 2020 – Advocates for the West won a significant victory when the court overturned a Trump administration policy which curtailed public participation in oil and gas leasing decisions. The court also granted Advocates for the West‘s request to void lease sales covering nearly 1 million acres of public lands — roughly a quarter of all…
Mogollon Rim Followup Case
Case: Case 2:20-cv-00328-GMS
February 12, 2020 – Advocates for the West filed suit against the Forest Service over its inadequate NEPA and ESA analysis for a new grazing decision affecting the Bar X grazing allotment, just below Arizona’s scenic Mogollon Rim. The Forest Service has decided to expand grazing on the allotment and reopen areas that have been closed to…
Antelope Allotment Grazing Followup
Case: Case 1:19-cv-00516-MC
February 25, 2020 — Advocates for the West filed our reply brief in this case. December 20, 2019 — Advocates for the West filed a motion for summary judgment in this case. We are asking the court to issue a ruling in our favor based on more than a decade of the agency’s own scientific evidence and…
Kilgore Mine Exploration in Centennial Mountains
Case: Case 1:18-cv-00504-CWD
February 28, 2020 – Advocates for the West filed a motion asking Judge Winmill to vacate the Kilgore DN/FONSI and EA so no exploration can proceed until the Forest Service addresses the issues raised in the court’s earlier decision. December 18, 2019 — Advocates for the West won a ruling from Idaho federal court that the…
Little Colorado River Basin Fracking
Case: Case 3:19-cv-08204-CDB
February 6, 2020 — Advocates for the West reached an agreement with the Trump administration suspending 4,200 acres of oil and gas leases on public land in Arizona’s Little Colorado River Valley as part of a joint motion filed in federal court. The federal government’s suspension of the leases prohibits any oil and gas activity…
Oil and Gas Lease Sales Near Bears Ears National Monument
Case: Friends of Cedar Mesa v. DOI, BLM, Kent Hoffman
February 6, 2019 – Advocates for the West filed suit to halt oil and gas lease sales in an unprotected and archaeologically rich area in southern Utah. Located between Canyons of the Ancients and Bears Ears National Monuments, this region is by far the densest archaeological area open to oil and gas leasing on public lands in…
Gold Mining on Conglomerate Mesa
Case: Petition Filed against BLM
Friday, June 15, 2018 – 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…
October 11, 2018
Mogollon Rim Cattle Grazing
Case: Neighbors of the Mogollon Rim, Inc. VS. U.S. Forest Service
October 11, 2018: Advocates for the West just reached an agreement with the Forest Service to keep the beautiful forested area below the Mogollon Rim in the Tonto National Forest free from livestock grazing for the foreseeable future. The area will remain cattle-free while the agency assesses whether grazing is compatible with the landscape and how it may affect wildlife habitat…
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…
