We Defend the West
Defending Wildlands | Protecting Wildlife | Safeguarding Climate
The Western Environmental Law Center uses the power of the law to safeguard the public lands, wildlife, and communities of the American West in the face of a changing climate. We envision a thriving, resilient West, abundant with protected public lands and wildlife, powered by clean energy, and defended by communities rooted in an ethic of conservation.
We Defend the West
Defending Wildlands | Protecting Wildlife | Safeguarding Climate
The Western Environmental Law Center uses the power of the law to safeguard the public lands, wildlife, and communities of the American West in the face of a changing climate. We envision a thriving, resilient West, abundant with protected public lands and wildlife, powered by clean energy, and defended by communities rooted in an ethic of conservation.
We Defend the West
Defending Wildlands
Protecting Wildlife
Safeguarding Climate
The Western Environmental Law Center uses the power of the law to safeguard the public lands, wildlife, and communities of the American West in the face of a changing climate. We envision a thriving, resilient West, abundant with protected public lands and wildlife, powered by clean energy, and defended by communities rooted in an ethic of conservation.
Get Updates
Receive monthly updates on our work defending the West.
Subscribe to WELC publications in the mail here.
Support Our Work!
We fight in court to defend the American West on behalf of our clients free of charge, but we can’t do it without your support!
EXPLORE WAYS TO GIVE
Defending Wildlands
The American West is defined by its natural heritage of wildlands, rivers, forests, and wildlife. Since its inception, WELC has worked hard to preserve and restore these unique characteristics.
Protecting Wildlife
The American West depends on its iconic wildlife. WELC protects native animals while preserving and restoring the healthy, functioning natural ecosystems they call home.
Safeguarding Climate
Our world is warming, with dire consequences to the American West’s communities, lands, rivers, and wildlife. But, as the saying goes, in every crisis lies opportunity.
Extinction’s Opposing Counsel
Wildlife attorney Matt Bishop has dedicated his career to fighting extinction. He focuses on predators – keystone species whose importance to ecosystem health can’t be overstated. Likewise, Matt’s success in defending those species has had an outsized impact across the West. Matt’s fellow WELC attorney Laura King wrote a profile on Matt, offering a look inside our Montana office and what drives extinction’s opposing counsel. MORE>>
Advocates force BLM to improve Colorado River Valley drilling plan
The Western Environmental Law Center, Wilderness Workshop, Western Colorado Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Sierra Club recently won an important victory in Federal District Court. The lawsuit challenged BLM’s 2015 Resource Management Plan (the...
Groups sue EPA over Los Alamos pollution
Late yesterday, clean water advocates filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to force it to address extremely high urban storm water pollution in Los Alamos County, downstream from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Urban storm water...
Wildlife advocates fight to force feds to protect Sonoran desert tortoise
Today, wildlife advocates challenged the federal government’s denial of Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for the Sonoran desert tortoise in federal court. WildEarth Guardians and Western Watersheds Project, represented by the Western Environmental Law Center,...
