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.
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…
Selkirk Woodland Caribou
Case: Defenders of Wildlife, et al,. v. Susan Martin, et al., v. Idaho State Snowmobile Association
December 13, 2021 — Advocates for the West won a ruling upholding a ban on the use of snowmobiles in certain high-elevation areas of the Idaho Panhandle National Forest that provide important habitat for the endangered southern mountain caribou. Southern mountain caribou are among the most critically endangered mammals in the lower 48 states. They…
Meadow Creek ORVs
Case: The Wilderness Society and Idaho Conservation League v. U.S. Forest Service
Meadow Creek is a major tributary to the Selway River in central Idaho which is a candidate Wild and Scenic river; and it offers some of the best habitat anywhere for endangered salmon, steelhead and bull trout. The Idaho conservation community has long fought to protect Meadow Creek from logging, roads, and other human impacts. Working…
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…
Bighorn Sheep — Hells Canyon and Salmon River
Case: Western Watersheds Project v. U.S. Forest Service
June 14, 2012 — In a court hearing, Judge Winmill ruled from the bench in favor of protecting bighorn sheep on the Payette National Forest. The Forest Service had decided in 2010 to close almost 70% of the Payette National Forest to domestic sheep grazing to protect the native bighorn populations in the area from…
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…
