Defending the Great Basin
Nevada and Western
Utah’s Great Basin and Range Country is a vast region of rugged
beauty and dramatic geology. This arid landscape is made up of vibrant but
fragile ecosystems and small agrarian communities.
As peaceful and pristine as this country seems, it is at
immense risk caught in the maelstrom of an insatiable need for water generated
by Las Vegas’s runaway growth. At
risk are the rural communities that depend upon the vast regional aquifer for
their survival. These same groundwater systems are the lifeblood of the Desert
National Wildlife Refuge Complex, the Great Basin
National Park, Lake Mead National
Recreation Area and the Death Valley National
Park.
Working with ranchers, conservationists, urban community
health and social justice activist, the Western
Environmental Law
Center is working hard to protect
these valuable lands and the way of life of the communities who depend on them.
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Challenge to Bush Administration Foot-Dragging on Species Protection
- The Bush administration has been using a legal loophole in the Endangered Species Act (the “warranted but precluded” clause) to delay listing of hundreds of species which it has acknowledged need protection, effectively allowing these species and their habitat to spiral downhill towards extinction.
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Protecting Rural Nevada's Groundwater Resources
- The Western Environmental Law Center is representing a broad coalition of citizens’ groups, rural governmental entities, and individuals in their fight to keep the Southern Nevada Water Authority from taking all available groundwater from rural eastern Nevada and western Utah, building a massive 200-mile pipeline project, and pumping millions of gallons of water each year to feed Las Vegas’s uncontrolled growth.
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Ensuring the Public's Right to Know - Pesticide Reform
- In a long campaign with Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides the Western Environmental Law Center has sought full disclosure of active and inert ingredients in pesticides to the public under the Freedom of Information Act.
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Keeping Off-Road Vehicles ON Roads in Pacific Northwest National Forests
- In 2005, the U.S. Forest Service implemented rules that will require Off-Road Vehicles to stay on designated routes. We are working hard to ensure that in the Pacific Northwest, national forests implement the rules in the most environmentally conscious way.
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Protecting Waters and Communities from Pesticides
- UPDATE! The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of local water supplies, fisheries & wildlife and has vacated the Bush EPA's rule exempting pesticide application from Clean Water Act protection.
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WELC Sues Forest Service Over Attempts to Remove Protections for Wildlife Across the Country
- WELC files suit on behalf of 14 conservation organizations
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VICTORY! WELC Protects Wildlife, Birds and Habitat on Farms
- We are thrilled to report that, in one of the quickest legal resolutions we've seen, WELC won a significant victory protecting habitat for wildlife on farmlands.
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