News & Updates
Trump admin announces intent to strip wolves of endangered species protections in lower 48
Today, acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt announced the Trump administration’s intent to remove endangered species protections for wolves in the lower 48 states. The administration will release the proposal to the public in the next few days. While we’re loath...
Protecting Spokane River summertime flows returns to court
Issue: When water is flowing in the Spokane River during hot summer months, should water be protected for community recreational and aesthetic use, river fish, and wildlife or should the Department of Ecology allow even more water to be taken from the river by...
Indiscriminate traps kill, injure endangered Mexican wolves, impeding recovery
As a bill to ban recreational and commercial trapping works its way through the New Mexico legislature, indiscriminate trapping is proving an enormous impediment for endangered Mexican gray wolves’ already uphill battle toward recovery. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife...
Coalition fights for public access in Montana’s Crazy Mountains
Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and a coalition of concerned conservation-based groups have submitted a letter to the U.S. Forest Service summarizing the groups’ concerns over public access in the Crazy Mountains in Montana and notifying the agency of their intent...
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...
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