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.
Logging in the Salmon-Clearwater Divide
Case: Friends of the Clearwater v. Cheryl F. Probert and U.S. Forest Service
January 3, 2023 — Advocates for the West received affirmation of our June 2022 victory on behalf of Friends of the Clearwater to protect old growth forests on Idaho’s Salmon-Clearwater Divide. The U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho denied the Forest Service’s motion to amend the prior decision ordering the agency to conduct…
Oil & Gas Drilling in the Uncompahgre Region
Case: Western Slope Conservation Center, The Wilderness Society, and Wilderness Workshop v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management, David Bernhardt, and Jamie E. Connell
October 17, 2022 — Advocates for the West reached a settlement agreement with the BLM that prevents the issuance of new oil and gas leases for lands in the Uncompahgre planning area until the agency conducts a more thorough environmental analysis and develops an amended plan. Under the agreement, the BLM must reconsider the eligibility of lands open to oil and…
Fairfield OSV Winter Travel
Case: Idaho State Snowmobile Association v. U.S. Forest Service, the Sawtooth National Forest, Jim Demaagd, Mike Dettori
April 14, 2020 – Advocates for the West filed suit to help defend a winter travel plan issued by the Forest Service that regulates snowmobile use on a Ranger District in Central Idaho. The Fairfield Ranger District on the Sawtooth National Forest completed a winter travel plan that allowed for significantly increased public snowmobile use in the…
San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area Grazing
Case: Western Watersheds Project, Center for Biological Diversity, and Sierra Club v. Anthony (Scott) Feldhausen, BLM Arizona State Director, and Bureau of Land Management
August 1, 2022 — Advocates for the West filed a settlement agreement sending the Bureau of Land Management back to its planning desk to reconsider the impacts of livestock grazing on the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area. The settlement compels the Bureau to reconsider the compatibility of grazing authorizations on four allotments within the…
Mogollon Rim Followup Case
Case: Neighbors of the Mogollon Rim, Inc. v. U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
May 5, 2023 — Advocates for the West won a significant victory in defense of this pristine corner of Arizona’s Tonto National Forest just below the scenic Mogollon Rim. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Forest Service made “serious errors” in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in approving a…
Antelope Allotment Grazing Followup
Case: Concerned Friends of the Winema, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, Western Watersheds Project, Oregon Wild, and Central Oregon Bitterbrush Broads of the Great Old Broads for Wilderness v. Douglas C. McKay, Barry L. Imler, U.S. Forest Service, Laurie Sada, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
October 26, 2023 — Advocates for the West and our partners won a strong victory to protect Oregon spotted frogs on Jack Creek in the Fremont-Winema National Forest. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) fell short of its obligations under the Endangered Species Act when issuing a Biological Opinion…
Kilgore Mine Exploration in Centennial Mountains
Case: Idaho Conservation League and Greater Yellowstone Coalition v. U.S. Forest Service
May 4, 2020 — The U.S. District Court in Idaho revoked the Forest Service’s approval of the Kilgore Project and stopped Otis Gold Corp. (now Excellon Resources Inc.) from moving forward with its exploration project. This important decision follows Judge Winmill’s December 2019 ruling that the Forest Service failed to consider Otis’s underground drilling as a…
Little Colorado River Basin Fracking
Case: Center For Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, and WildEarth Guardians v. Raymond Suazo, BLM Arizona State Office, David Bernhardt, Bureau of Land Management
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. U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, and Kent Hoffman
May 3, 2024 — The Bureau of Lands Management (BLM) issued a decision cancelling 25 parcels, totaling more than 40,296 acres, from oil and gas leasing in the Lands Between—a major win for this tremendously significant cultural landscape and for descendant communities across the region. The decision follows Advocates for the West’s 2023 settlement requiring BLM…
Gold Mining on Conglomerate Mesa
Case: Petition Filed against Bureau of Land Management
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 in…
