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.
Pygmy rabbit listing
Case: Western Watersheds Project v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
February 3, 2010 — Advocates for the West sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over its violation of the Endangered Species Act in refusing to determine if the pygmy rabbit warrants protection under the ESA. This case is now the third time we have had to sue the Service for its continued and repeated…
Otter Creek Diversion Challenge
Case: IWP v. Jones
Endangered Species Act citizen suit against Verl and Tuddie Jones for unlawful “take” of threatened bull trout through operation of their unscreened diversion on Otter Creek, located on Salmon Challis National Forest public lands. We won an injunction prohibiting further diversions until the irrigator obtained a special use permit from US Forest Service, and it conducted ESA consultation…
Herd Creek diversion
Case: IWP v. Bennetts
Endangered Species Act citizen suit against Jim Bennetts for unlawful “take” of threatened salmon, steelhead, and bull trout associated with his unscreened public lands diversions on Herd Creek and Lake Creek (East Fork Salmon River watershed), and because of livestock damage to critical habitat on his base property. After we filed for summary judgment supported by several…
Mahogany Creek diversion
Case: IWP v. Whitworth
Endangered Species Act citizen suit against Judd Whitworth and Sulphur Creek Livestock for unlawful “take” of threatened bull trout through operation of unscreened public lands diversion on Mahogany Creek, tributary to upper Pahsimeroi River. Our experts showed that the Mahogany Creek diversion would likely “take” bull trout through entrainment into the unscreened ditch, which continued…
Sawtooth Wolves
Case: Western Watersheds Project and Idaho Conservation League v. Sawtooth National Forest, Bill Levere, and U.S. Forest Service
Advocates for the West bring this case forward to address the issue of grazing in the Sawtooth National Recreational Area (SNRA). We represented Idaho Conservation League who argued that the U.S. National Forest Service failed to do a proper environmental analysis on the effect grazing would have to the wolf population in the SNRA. The…
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…
Clearwater — Lolo Creek Timber Sales
Case: The Ecology Center, et al., v. Abigal Kimbell, et al.
We won an injunction in 2004 preventing the Clearwater National Forest from proceeding with two adjoining timber sales in the Lolo Creek watershed of central Idaho, to protect habitat of imperilled fish — including salmon, steelhead, and bull trout. Even though the Forest Service developed the two sales — called “White/White” and “Brick/Trout” — at the…
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…
