News & Updates
Federal court cites climate, urges rejection of Montana coal mine expansion
A federal judge late yesterday ruled the U.S. Department of the Interior illegally approved a coal mine expansion in southeast Montana, finding that officials inappropriately ignored climate costs. In 2017, WildEarth Guardians, Montana Environmental Information...
Statement: Green New Deal a great deal for American West
The Western Environmental Law Center proudly supports the Green New Deal resolution introduced in the U.S. Congress by Senator Ed Markey, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and dozens of congressional co-sponsors. The climate crisis presents a daunting challenge...
Legal action defends WA’s decision to keep neurotoxins out of Willapa Bay, Grays Harbor
Four environmental and public health groups took legal action today to uphold the state of Washington’s prohibition on spraying the neurotoxic pesticide imidacloprid on up to 500 acres of oyster and clam beds in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor annually. The Center for...
Lujan Grisham executive order sets ambitious agenda to take on climate fight in NM
Today, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order to bring the state into the 21st century in the fight against climate change and our transition to clean energy. The order seeks transformative action to boost clean energy, reduce climate...
Federal court halts illegal logging in sensitive forests
SACRAMENTO—Late Friday, Judge Troy L. Nunley halted plans for post-fire, clear-cut logging in northern California’s Klamath National Forest. The court held that the Seiad-Horse timber sale project would illegally and irreparably harm aquatic resources with increased...
NM Oil Conservation Commission to rehear double drilling rule change
The San Juan Citizens Alliance and Western Environmental Law Center applaud the decision by Gov. Lujan Grisham’s New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission (NMOCC) to set a new hearing regarding a contentious and rushed Martinez-era rule doubling of the oil and gas...
Public deserves input on double drilling under methane hot spot, near Chaco
Public watchdog groups are extending their appreciation to Gov. Lujan Grisham’s administration for scheduling of a New Mexico’s Oil Conservation Commission special meeting tomorrow to consider whether it will reopen the public process for a highly controversial,...
Court officially rejects Ochoco National Forest motorized trail system
In a final ruling late yesterday, District Court Judge Marco A. Hernandez confirmed Magistrate Judge Patricia Sullivan’s September 2018 rejection of a U.S. Forest Service plan to add 137 miles of off-road vehicle trails in central Oregon’s Ochoco National Forest...
Erik’s 2018 End-of-Year Letter
Friends, We are now two years into the Trump administration. As we reflect on this time period, our resistance to the administration’s anti-environment agenda has blocked a great number of policies that would have harmed the wildlife and public lands of the West, as...
Wildlife advocates to challenge federal beaver killing in CA over salmon
Today, wildlife advocates notified federal wildlife-killing program Wildlife Services of their plans to legally challenge the program’s beaver killing in California over its harm to endangered salmon. Wildlife Services, a program under the Department of Agriculture,...
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