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.
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….
Protecting Idaho Wild and Scenic Rivers
Case: Idaho Rivers United and Friends of the Clearwater v. Cheryl F. Probert, U.S. Forest Service, NOAA Fisheries, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
May 12th, 2016 — Advocates for the West won a federal court order blocking the U.S. Forest Service from moving forward with its plan to build roads and clear cut along Idaho’s Selway and Middle Fork Clearwater Wild and Scenic Rivers. The Forest Service’s plan was in response to the 2014 Johnson Bar fire, which burned…
Point Reyes National Seashore
Case: Resource Renewal Institute, Center for Biological Diversity, and Western Watersheds Project v. National Park Service & Cicely Muldoon
July 12, 2017 — Advocates for the West reached a settlement agreement with the National Park Service. Under the agreement, the NPS will prepare a General Management Plan Amendment and an Environmental Impact Statement “that, at a minimum, addresses the lands currently leased for ranching in Point Reyes and in the north district of Golden Gate…
East Boulder Creek Gold Mining
Case: Idaho Conservation League v. U.S. Forest Service
We are pleased that East Boulder Creek will be better put back together for fish and wildlife that depend on it and hope that this case was a wake up call to the Forest Service that similar mining projects cannot simply be exempted from environmental review. October 28 2015 — We favorably dismissed our lawsuit…
Canyon of the Ancients Grazing
Case: Protest of the Proposed Decision to Issue Ten-Year Term Grazing Permits for Yellow Jacket and Flodine Park allotments in Canyon of the Ancients National Monument
September 15, 2015 — the BLM published a letter announcing that after “considering the protests received on this grazing decision the BLM has determined that further analysis is warranted” before issuing 10-year term grazing permits for the Flodine Park and Yellow Jacket Allotments in Canyon of the Ancients National Monument. Instead, an Environmental Assessment regarding…
Protecting Selway Wild and Scenic Values
Case: Idaho Rivers United & Morgan and Olga Wright v. District Ranger Joe Hudson & United States Forest Service
On March 28, 2016 — The Court issued a decision in our favor. The judge upheld Wild and Scenic River values when he declared that the U.S. Forest Service ignored the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act by approving access to a state logging sale in the Selway River canyon. August 17, 2015 — Advocates for…
Treasure Valley Air Pollution
Case: Advocates For the West and Idaho Conservation League Petition to Address Air Quality Problems
February 6, 2015 — Advocates for the West and the Idaho Conservation League petitioned EPA to take urgent action to address growing air quality problems in Idaho’s Treasure Valley. It’s no surprise to locals that air quality can be less than pristine in the Treasure Valley, particularly during winter weather inversions. However, we were surprised to learn that…
Gunnison sage-grouse more than “threatened”
Case: Intent to Sue Over Violations of Section 4 of the Endangered Species Act
September 27, 2018 — A federal court decision preserves the listing status for Gunnison sage-grouse as a threatened species, with the critical habitat the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service designated for it intact. Fewer than 3,000 of this unique sage-grouse species remain, clustered around Colorado’s Gunnison Basin. Advocates for the West represented WildEarth Guardians and…
Albeni Falls Dam
Case: Idaho Conservation League v. Bonneville Power Administration
June 26, 2016 — The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion denying our Petition for Review. We filed the Petition on behalf of the Idaho Conservation League, challenging the Bonneville Power Administration’s decision to adopt new winter operations at the Albeni Falls Dam in North Idaho. Under the new operations, Lake Pend Oreille…
Cave Lake Sage-Grouse Habitat Protection
Case: Western Watersheds Project v. Amy Luenders, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Department of Interior
June 14, 2013 — In a case led by Senior Attorney Todd Tucci, Advocates for the West filed a complaint on behalf of Western Watersheds Project to protect 145,000 acres of public lands in the Ely district of Nevada, which contains key sage-grouse habitat. This is a follow-up case to our broader, ongoing lawsuit challenging 16 BLM Resource Management…
