News & Updates
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...
Coalition lawsuit: Science says wolverines need protection
Today, a coalition of wildlife advocates challenged the Trump Fish and Wildlife Service’s (the Service’s) decision to deny protections to imperiled wolverines under the Endangered Species Act. This is the second time the Service has prioritized politics over science...
11th-hour Trump actions prolong “scorched Earth” policy threatening Western public lands
Today, the Trump administration’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) completed its final actions to fast-track approvals and eliminate public input and review on clearcutting of native forests and shrubs across western public lands. With the announcement of its final...
Time’s up: Feds missed deadlines for years, harming imperiled northern spotted owls
Today, a group of wildlife advocates filed a complaint in federal district court against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) for falling to take multiple actions required by the Endangered Species Act to protect the northern spotted owl from extinction....
Missing lynx: Advocates challenge Feds’ refusal to prepare recovery plan
Today, a coalition of conservation organizations filed a complaint in federal court challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (the Service’s) decision to forgo recovery planning for threatened Canada lynx. Recovery plans are important tools required by the...
Lame-duck Trump administration once again undermines America’s bedrock environmental law
Tomorrow, the Trump administration will publish in the Federal Register important changes to the U.S. Forest Service’s regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that will undermine environmental review of and public engagement in a suite of...
Federal court again slams Trump administration for ignoring climate consequences of selling public lands for fracking
Late last Friday, a federal court ruled that the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (the Bureau) failed to disclose the climate impacts of selling more than 300,000 acres—or 475 square miles—of public lands for fracking and oil and gas...
Wolf coalition launches challenge to nationwide wolf delisting
On Friday, Nov. 6, a coalition of Western wolf advocates filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, launching a challenge of the agency’s decision to prematurely strip wolves of federal protections in the contiguous 48 states, in violation of...
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