WILDLIFE in the WEST
Threatened and endangered species in the West cover the gamut. They are bighorn sheep and wolves. They are sage-grouse and salmon. They are pygmy rabbits and spotted frogs.
Our wildlife cases wield the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and others to halt habitat destruction – unchecked grazing, industrial development, mining exploration, obsolete dams – wildlife in the West face these and many other threats daily.
As climate change and human activities cause the loss and fragmentation of habitats, our work becomes increasingly vital. We strive to protect and boost diminishing wildlife populations – from the mighty bighorn to the fragile frog.
Sheep Experiment Station Followup Case
Case: Case 1:19-cv-00065-REB
February 20, 2019 – Advocates for the West filed suit on behalf of Western Watersheds Project and WildEarth Guardians in our latest federal lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Sheep Experiment Station (“Sheep Station”) for reauthorizing domestic sheep grazing in and around the Centennial Mountains because of adverse impacts to bighorn sheep, Yellowstone grizzly bears, sage-grouse and…
Wishbone Bighorn Herd Protection
Case: WildEarth Guardians and Western Watersheds Project V. U.S. Forest Service, Case #1:19-cv-00208
January 24, 2019 – Advocates for the West filed suit to halt the Rio Grande National Forest decision to graze domestic sheep within the habitat range of bighorn herds. The suit, filed on behalf of WildEarth Guardians and Western Watersheds Project, asserts that the forest managers knew the risk that domestic sheep would pose to bighorn, yet…
Bonneville Power Administration Ratemaking
Case: Petition to Intervene
December 14, 2018 – BPA granted our motion to intervene, which will give us a real opportunity to dig into the true cost of the Lower Snake River dams. December 11, 2018 – Advocates for the West filed a petition to intervene with the Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA) Joint Power and Transmission Rate Proceeding for the 2020-2021…
Willamette River Salmon and Steelhead
Case: 3:18-cv-00437-JR
Upper Willamette River wild spring Chinook salmon and winter steelhead are facing the threat of extinction due largely to dam operations in Oregon’s Willamette River basin. Advocates for the West filed an emergency injunction in federal court to compel the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) to make immediate operational changes at four of…
BPA–Idaho Accord Extension
Case: NA
September 26, 2018 – Advocates for the West submitted comments on the draft Bonneville Power Administration’s Idaho Accord extension agreement on behalf of Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, Idaho Wildlife Federation and Idaho Chapter of the Sierra Club. In August 2018, we sent a letter to BPA expressing concern over the lack of public notice and…
Kilgore Mine Exploration
Case: Case 1:18-cv-00504-CWD
On November 13, 2018, Advocates for the West filed suit against the Forest Service for approving Otis Gold’s 5-year exploration project. On July 2, 2018, Advocates for the West filed objections to the Forest Service’s proposed approval of the Kilgore Exploration Project in the Centennial Mountains in Eastern Idaho. If approved, this extensive five-year exploration…
June 22, 2018
Idaho Wildlife Services Environmental Assessment
Case: Western Watersheds Project et al. vs. USDA APHIS Wildlife Services, Case No. 1:17-cv-206
Stopping the Slaughter: Suing Wildlife Services Advocates for the West filed suit on behalf of Western Watersheds Project, the Center for Biological Diversity, WildEarth Guardians, and Predator Defense, over a 2016 decision through which Wildlife Services seeks to expand its slaughter of thousands of ravens and coyotes, as well as wolves, black bears, mountain lions,…
Devil’s Corral Water Rights
Case: In the Matter of Application for Permit No. 36-7999 (Devils Corral LLC)
February 27, 2018 – Advocates for the West represents the Committee for Idaho’s High Desert (CIHD) in this water right protest. Devil’s Corral Spring is a 3/4-mile long river that flows into the Snake River just upstream of Shoshone Falls. Fed by the Snake River Plain Aquifer, Devil’s Corral Spring is clean and free flowing…
Oil & Gas Leases in Sage-Grouse Habitat
Case: Western Watersheds Project and Center for Biological Diversity V. Ryan K. Zinke, David Bernhardt; and BLM
August 24, 2018 – Advocates for the West filed our reply brief in this case. April 30, 2018 – Advocates for the West filed a lawsuit challenging Trump Administration policies that gut protections for imperiled greater sage-grouse and allow oil and gas leases on nearly 2 million acres of the bird’s prime habitat. Our suit demonstrates…
Sawtooth National Forest Water Diversions
Case: Idaho Conservation League v. U.S. Forest Service
March 13, 2017 – Advocates for the West sent the Forest Service a notice of intent to sue for violating the Endangered Species Act by authorizing 23 existing irrigation diversions and ditches in Idaho’s Sawtooth Valley without addressing long-standing adverse impacts to fish. The Sawtooth Valley’s Imperiled Fish Runs The Sawtooth Valley watershed is part of central…
