News & Updates
As President Biden takes office, groups double down on legal push to end fracking on public lands
As Joe Biden prepared to assume the presidency this week, a coalition filed a lawsuit to overturn the Trump administration’s sale of more than 1 million acres of public lands in the American West for fracking. Filed in federal court by WildEarth Guardians, Physicians...
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission upholds Oregon’s denial of key Jordan Cove LNG permit
Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) upheld the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s denial of a key permit for the proposed Jordan Cove LNG export terminal and Pacific Connector fracked gas pipeline. The Jordan Cove LNG project cannot move...
Wildlife, wilderness advocates challenge ‘no significant impact’ of grazing on 270K acres in NM, AZ
Today, conservationists challenged a U.S. Forest Service decision that would allow livestock grazing across 271,665 acres of the Greater Gila bioregion in the Apache-Sitgreaves and Gila National Forests in Arizona and New Mexico over a 10-year period. This massive...
Western wolf coalition challenges nationwide wolf delisting
Today, a coalition of Western wolf advocates challenged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to prematurely strip wolves of federal protections in the contiguous 48 states, in violation of the Endangered Species Act. The most recent data from the U.S. Fish...
BNSF railway applies for 7-year permit to kill 18 grizzlies as “incidental” cost of doing business
Yesterday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced the availability of Burlington Northern Railway Company’s (BNSF) application for an “incidental take permit” (ITP) that would allow the company to lawfully kill up to 18 federally protected grizzly bears...
USFWS cuts northern spotted owl critical habitat by 42% in likely death sentence for species
Today, with six days remaining in the Trump administration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a final rule eliminating 3.4 million acres of critical habitat for the northern spotted owl in Washington state, Oregon, and California. This decision comes one...
Groups challenge Trump administration sale of 58,000 acres of public lands for oil, gas drilling
A coalition of groups today challenged five Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease sales encompassing 112 parcels and 58,297 acres of public lands in central and eastern Montana and North Dakota. The lawsuit says the agency failed to fully assess the potential...
WELC statement on Jan. 6 2021 D.C. sedition/insurrection
In light of the events in our nation’s capital today, the Western Environmental Law Center issues the following statement: We are united as an organization in our dedication to the rule of law. It is for this reason we condemn today’s events in Washington, D.C., and...
Legal agreement blocks fracking on 53 oil leases, requires climate review for management of 2 million acres in Colorado
Conservation groups finalized a legal agreement with the Bureau of Land Management today that blocks drilling on more than 45,000 acres of oil and gas leases until officials revise land management plans in the Grand Junction and Colorado River Valley Field Offices...
USFWS: Northern spotted owls are endangered, but we’re too busy to help
Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a finding on the northern spotted owl’s listing status, spurred by a lawsuit filed last week by wildlife advocates. The finding states “reclassification of the northern spotted owl from a threatened species to an...
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