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.
Mt. Wilson pinyon-juniper logging
Case: American Lands Alliance, Western Watersheds Project, et al v. Kolkman
This case challenged BLM’s proposal to clearcut and mulch some 50 square miles of old growth pinyon-juniper forest around the Mt. Wilson area of central Nevada. BLM claimed that the logging was needed to reduce wildfire risks in the “urban/wildland interface,” even though there is no urban area in this remote part of Nevada — and…
Sonoran National Monument grazing
Case: Western Watersheds Project v. Bureau of Land Management
President Clinton designated the 500,000-acre Sonoran Desert National Monument in 2001 to protect its outstanding wildlife, plant and other natural resources. The Monument proclamation ordered BLM to halt livestock grazing on part of the Monument, and to study whether grazing would be compatible with the Monument purposes on the remainder. Yet eight years later, BLM still has not made that compatability…
Sawtooth North Sheep Allotments
Case: Western Watersheds Project and Randall Hermann, MD. v. U.S. Forest Service
In response to our victory in the SNRA wolves case, Forest Service prepared an EIS for new grazing management on North Sheep, Smiley Creek, and other allotments in the Sawtooth National Forest of central Idaho, which are home to wolves, bighorn sheep, and endangered salmon and other fish. These allotments are grazed by domestic sheep, which…
Sawtooth — North Sheep 2009
Case: Western Watersheds Project v. U.S. Forest Service
Opening summary judgment brief filed June 25, 2010 in the Sawtooth–North Sheep case alleges that the Forest Service failed to take a “hard look” at sheep grazing impacts on several Sawtooth National Forest allotments, particularly on sensitive wildlife including fish and sage grouse. Even though we won a prior court order requiring analysis of grazing…
Clearwater Old Growth
Case: The Wilderness Society et al v. Bosworth
Representing a broad coalition of national, state and local conservation groups, we brought this case in 1997 to stop Forest Service plans to log old growth forests in the Clearwater region of central Idaho — including the headwaters of the Lochsa and North Fork Clearwater rivers. The case focused on how logging and logging roads…
Whiskey South timber sale
Case: Idaho Conservation League and Friends of the Clearwater v. K. Lynn Bennett, Bureau of Land Management, Abigail Kimball, and United States Forest Service
BLM proposed to log over 12 million board feet of old growth forests in the South Fork Clearwater basin of central Idaho, asserting that risks of beetle infestation and wildfire required the logging. After a week long trial where we called several expert witnesses to show those arguments were not accurate, the federal court enjoined the logging…
Interior Mountain quail
Case: 9th Cir. 07-39577
Interior Mountain Quail were once abundant across the sagebrush-steppe, but are now reduced to a few populations in Oregon, Nevada and Idaho; and remaining populations are threatened by habitat destruction from grazing and other impacts. The US Fish and Wildlife Service rejected client Western Watersheds Project’s petition to list Interior Mountain Quail under the ESA, saying it is not a “distinct” population…
Washington State Lands
Case: Western Watersheds Project v. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Jennifer Quan
The Thurston County Superior Court ruled that WDFW’s action in approving the latest Asotin grazing permit was arbitrary and capricious, noting that the agency had disregarded its own scientists’ concerns about wildlife. January of 2011 — We successfully settled our case challenging the Whiskey Dick EIS with an agreement that will close about 35,000 acres of…
Jarbidge Sage-Grouse
Case: Western Watersheds Project v. Tom Dyer, Rick Vandervoet, Bureau of Land Management
April 14, 2011 — A federal judge has ordered BLM to close to livestock grazing 17 allotments in the Jarbidge Field Office in southwestern Idaho, and has given Simplot Livestock and other permittees about two weeks to remove all livestock from the closed areas. Animating the court’s decision was the continuing collapse of sage-grouse populations…
Forest Service grazing categorical exclusions
Case: Western Watersheds Project, et al. v. U.S. Forest Service
November 11, 2010 — After the parties partially settled this case, the Forest Service still tried to move the remainder of Plaintiffs’ case from the Northern District of California to the Eastern District of California. In a short but sweet Order, the Court denied this motion and retained the case. May 30, 2008 — We…
