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.
US Forest Service Travel Management Plans Exclude Snowmobiles
Case: Winter Wildlands Alliance v. U.S. Forest Service
March 29, 2013 — Senior Attorney Laurie Rule received word that U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald E. Bush had ruled in our favor. In his Court Decision, Judge Bush specifically calls out Executive Order 11644, stating that the Order – “requires an agency to promulgate regulations that provide for designation of areas of use and non-use…
Snowmobile Use in California National Forests
Case: Snowlands Network, Winter Wildlands Alliance, and Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Forest Service
August 26th, 2013 — This case was successfully settled with the US Forest Service agreeing to conduct a new NEPA no later than May 30, 2015. Advocates for the West is representing Snowlands Network, Winter Wildlands Alliance and Center for Biological Diversity in a case regarding better management of snowmobile use on National Forest land in…
Mono Basin Sage-Grouse
Case: Western Watersheds Project and WildEarth Guardians v. Bureau of Land Management
Advocates for the West, and our clients Western Watersheds Project and WildEarth Guardians, are one step closer to improving protections for the Mono-Basin Sage-Grouse, a genetically unique population of the imperiled greater sage-grouse. December 7, 2011 — We filed our opening brief in a lawsuit that challenges BLM’s decision to reauthorize livestock grazing during the summer nesting and brood-rearing season in some…
Spring Valley Wind Energy Facility
Case: Western Watersheds Project, Center for Biological Diversity, Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, Duckwater Shoshone Tribe, and Ely Shoshone Tribe v. Bureau of Land Management
January 25, 2011 — Two conservation groups and three American Indian tribes filed suit to protect a mountain valley adjacent to Great Basin National Park in Nevada from a poorly-sited industrial wind energy project approved by BLM with minimal environmental review. The Spring Valley Wind Energy Project is a mere 4 miles from one of the…
Ruby Pipeline
Case: Western Watersheds Project, Oregon Natural Desert Association and Ruby Pipeline Agree to Establish Conservation Funds
Ruby settlement established new conservation fund. Advocates for the West recently helped broker an innovative settlement between WWP and El Paso Pipeline Corp. to establish a $15 million Sagebrush Habitat Conservation Fund. The Fund will work to retire grazing permits on a willing seller basis to mitigate for impacts of the 650-mile Ruby natural gas…
Mega-loads on Highway 12
Case: Linwood Laughy et al. v. Conocophillips, Emmert International, and Idaho Transportation Department
As a result of our work, the Conoco transport was delayed for five months and only 1 of the 207 loads envisioned by Exxon traveled on Highway 12. Exxon was forced to cut the remaining loads in half and transport them along other routes. February 23, 2011 — Advocates for the West has filed a…
In Defense of Animals and Craig Downer v. BLM
Case: In Defense of Animals & Craig Downer v. Bureau of Land Management
This case challenges a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) decision to roundup and remove nearly all of the wild free-roaming horses within three horse areas in northeastern Nevada. BLM claims that it needs to remove these horses because they are overgrazing the public lands, although BLM’s own documents show that cows – and not wild…
Greenfire Grazing Permit
Case: Valley Sun, LLC and Western Watersheds Project v. Bureau of Land Management
Advocates for the West represents Valley Sun, LLC and Western Watersheds Project on their challenge to a decision by BLM to cancel the Greenfire Preserve’s grazing permit due to reasons related to lack of grazing. On June 11, 2010, an ALJ granted Valley Sun a stay of BLM’s cancellation decision, citing potential harm identified by…
Central Idaho wolves
Case: Wolf Recovery Foundation and Western Watersheds Project, et al v. U.S. Forest Service and USDA Aphis Wildlife Services
In the second round of this case, Plaintiffs Wolf Recovery Foundation and Western Watersheds Project challenged APHIS Wildlife Services for failing to conduct any environmental analysis of the impacts of its wolf control actions. Wildlife Services kills many wolves each year in the state of Idaho that are believed to have attacked livestock. These wolf…
Pahsimeroi Endangered Fish
Case: Western Watersheds Project v. David Rosenkrance, Bureau of Land Management, William Wood, U.S. Forest Service, Jeffery Foss, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, David Mabe, and NOAA Fisheries
The Pahsimeroi Valley contains key habitat for three species of Endangered Species Act-listed fish: bull trout, chinook salmon, and steelhead. Yet BLM and Forest Service have not conducted monitoring and habitat improvements as required by their own ESA consultation, which is now very outdated. Their failure to meet fish habitat requirements or to consult over…
