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.
Oregon Spotted Frog Habitat Protection
Case: Intent to Sue for Violation of the Endangered Species Act
October 28, 2016 – Advocates for the West reached a settlement agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation and several irrigation districts to protect the Upper Deschutes River. The agreement authorizes a temporary boost in water flows to reduce harm to the Oregon spotted frog and its habitat. February 9, 2016 – Advocates for the West filed a preliminary injunction…
Oregon Lost River and Shortnose Sucker Habitat Protection
Case: Oregon Wild, Friends of Living Oregon Waters, and Western Watersheds Project v. Constance Cummins, U.S. Forest Service, Laurie R. Sada, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
July 22, 2015 — Advocates for the West’s Senior Attorney Laurie Rule and Staff Attorney Lizzy Zultoski partnered with David H. Becker to file a complaint on behalf of clients Oregon Wild, Friends of Living Oregon Waters, and Western Watersheds Project in U.S. District Court in Medford, Oregon over grazing in the Fremont-Winema National Forest….
North Idaho Coal & Oil Trains
Case: Advocates For the West and Idaho Conservation League challenge proposed coal & oil rail bridge in North Idaho
August of 2014 — BNSF Railway announced its intention to build a second rail bridge across Lake Pend Oreille. The bridge would accommodate additional rail traffic carrying crude oil from the Bakken and coal from the Powder River Basin to refineries and ports in the Pacific Northwest. The nearly mile-long new bridge would be located…
Owyhee Wilderness Trapping
Case: Idaho Conservation League v. Bureau of Land Management
Advocates for the West is challenging BLM’s decision to allow commercial trapping in the Owyhee Canyonlands Wilderness Areas. In 2009, Congress designated six wilderness areas and sixteen wild and scenic river segments in Owyhee County in Southwest Idaho. Though close to Boise, the rugged river canyons and vast desert of the Owyhee Canyonlands offer unique opportunities…
Oregon Bull Trout Habitat Protection
Case: Oregon Wild, Friends of Living Oregon Waters, and Western Watersheds Project v. U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
December 22, 2015 — On behalf of our clients OregonWild, Friends of Living Oregon Waters, and Western Watersheds Project, Advocates for the West submitted Summary Judgment. May 26, 2015 — Advocates for the West’s Senior Attorney Laurie Rule partnered with David H. Becker to file a complaint on behalf of clients Oregon Wild, Friends of Living…
Golden Hand Mining Exploration
Case: Idaho Conservation League, the Wilderness Society, EarthWorks, Friends of the Clearwater, Wilderness Watch v. Lannom, Keith B., and U.S. Forest Service
August 2, 2016 — the U.S. District Court ruled in our favor, finding that a Forest Service decision approving a mining company’s plan to deploy bulldozers, dump trucks and drilling rigs miles inside the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness violates the Wilderness Act, the National Forest Management Act and the National Environmental Policy Act….
Wildlife Services in Idaho
Case: Western Watersheds Project, WildEarth Guardians, Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Clearwater, and Project Coyote v. Todd Grimm, USDA Aphis Wildlife Services, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
After Advocates for the West filed suit challenging Wildlife Services’s failure to analyze and disclose to the public the impacts of its activities in Idaho, Wildlife Services issued a draft environmental analysis that discusses some of the impacts of its activities at an Idaho-wide scale. Advocates for the West worked with our clients to draft comments…
Midas Gold Followup Case
Case: Environmental Assessment for the Golden Meadow Exploration Project
January 7th, 2015 — For the third time now, the Forest Service has issued a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) and proposes to approve Midas Gold’s three-year exploration plan at Idaho’s historic Stibnite mining site. Twice – in response to our pressure – the Forest Service has withdrawn EAs for Midas’s exploration, citing the need for additional…
Idaho Water Quality: Fish Consumption Rate
Case: Notice of Intent to Sue EPA Under Clean Water Act for Failing to Prepare and Promulgate Toxics Standards in Idaho
April 30, 2013 — Advocates for the West sent EPA a Notice of Intent to Sue for failing to promptly revise these important water quality standards. We were able to craft a settlement agreement which gives IDEQ and other stakeholders time to complete fish consumption studies, but which sets a deadline to revise the standards…
Protecting Idaho’s Bighorn Sheep
Case: Idaho Wool Growers Association, et al. v. Tom Vilsack and The Wilderness Society
March 2, 2016 — The Ninth Circuit court issued an opinion in our favor affirming the district court’s summary judgement. The opinion was written by Judge Berzon of the Ninth Circuit, and is the culmination of litigation that began in 2007. It affirms that domestic sheep pose a substantial risk of disease transmission to bighorn…
