IDAHO–– In an exciting win for bighorn sheep today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the Payette National Forest’s decision to close 70% of the Forest to domestic sheep grazing in order to protect bighorn sheep from contracting an often-fatal disease from the domestics. Bighorn sheep are gregarious animals and will commune with domestics if they […]
Wednesday, February 10th – In a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers, Advocates for the West and a group of allies demand emergency measures to protect migrating salmon in 2016. In 2015, a staggering 96% of the 500,000 returning ESA listed Snake River sockeye died before reaching Lower Granite Dam due to unusually high water […]
Advocates for the West is pleased to welcome John Lamson, Executive Vice President of the nonprofit PR firm Resource Media, to our Board of Directors! John is a seasoned communications strategist with 23 years of experience in advocacy, elections and higher education. He manages the senior staff that oversee all of Resource Media’s program work, and partners with the […]
On Friday, October 23rd, the New York Times and Idaho Statesman ran an AP article with some great news for Idaho: the Department of Energy (DOE) decided to cancel its planned shipment of 25 spent nuclear fuel rods to Idaho National Laboratory from the Byron Nuclear Power Station in Illinois. We and our clients, former Idaho Governors Cecil D. […]
Our Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Linwood Laughy is the new Board President of Advocates for the West! A long-time resident of Idaho’s Clearwater Valley, Lin has guided over 5,000 heritage travelers in north-central Idaho as an outfitter and through such organizations as Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic. Lin cherishes his rural lifestyle beside the Middlefork of the Clearwater River […]
For Immediate Release: BOISE, ID – Former Idaho Governors Cecil Andrus and Philip Batt submitted comments today heavily criticizing the Department of Energy for not disclosing information to the public about two proposed shipments of commercial spent nuclear fuel rods to Idaho National Laboratory. The two proposed shipments would require Idaho to “waive” the provision of Governor […]
Our Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Laird Lucas is returning as Executive Director, as Wendy Wilson departs to re-engage in her lifelong passion for policy and advocacy work on water, climate and energy issues. “We are all thankful for Wendy’s leadership in taking Advocates for the West to a new level as an organization,” said Laird Lucas. “As […]
Former Idaho Governors Cecil Andrus and Philip Batt have retained Advocates for the West’s Director of Litigation, Laird Lucas, to fight the Department of Energy’s proposal to ship commercial spent nuclear fuel to Idaho for “testing” and “research” at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The former governors are upset because the 1995 Batt Settlement Agreement – […]
When beautiful spring weather arrives in Boise, it’s easy to forget about the dismal days of winter inversions. As we all enjoy the clean, crisp air of springtime, Advocates for the West will be hard at work – ensuring improved air quality for every season! It’s no surprise to locals that air quality can be less than pristine […]
BOISE, ID – In response to a lawsuit brought by Senior Attorney Laurie Rule on behalf of six conservation allies, a federal court ordered the US Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider its 2013 decision to reduce by 90 percent its designation of critical habitat for the endangered mountain caribou. The court found in Monday’s decision that the agency did not give […]