News & Updates

WELC statement on nomination of public lands privatization advocate to lead U.S. Department of Interior

Dec 9, 2016

Location: Taos The nomination of Cathy McMorris Rodgers to lead the U.S. Department of Interior, tasked with "protecting America's great outdoors and powering our future," affirms the president elect's intent to undermine public lands protections and hand over our...

Coalition Calls on Obama Administration to Protect Greater Chaco, Navajo Communities from Fracking

Dec 8, 2016

Groups Appeal to Overturn U.S. Bureau of Land Management Plans to Auction Public, Tribal Lands to the Oil and Gas Industry Location: Santa Fe, NM Citing the dangers and destruction caused by unchecked fracking in the Greater Chaco region of northwest New Mexico, a...

WELC statement on appointment of industry puppet as EPA Administrator

Dec 7, 2016

Location: Taos, NM The appointment of Scott Pruitt, a climate denier and fossil fuel industry puppet as EPA Administrator in the next presidential administration effectively hijacks the mission of the agency to serve corporate masters at the expense of public health...

Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest Withdraws Controversial Big-Game Measure, Citing Sportsmen’s Suit

Dec 6, 2016

Montana hunters and anglers commend Forest Service’s responsible management decision Location: Helena A coalition of Montana sportsmen’s groups commended the Helena-Lewis Clark National Forest’s recent decision to withdraw a controversial forest plan amendment that...

Public Health and Environmental Groups Move to Defend Standards to Reduce Waste of Natural Gas on Public Lands

Dec 3, 2016

Groups Seek to Join Lawsuit to Oppose Challenges to the Standards Fifteen national, regional, tribal and local public health and environmental groups representing millions of Americans took legal steps today to defend new standards that will reduce natural gas waste...

Climate youths head back to court, Gov. Inslee must justify noncompliance with court order

Nov 21, 2016

Location: Seattle Youth petitioners are returning to court on Tuesday, November 22, 2016 for a hearing where Gov. Jay Inslee’s administration must show why it is not in contempt of the court’s prior order to protect the constitutional rights of the youth from climate...

Terry Tempest Williams & Brooke Williams appeal to Interior Board of Land Appeals over oil and gas lease purchase

Nov 16, 2016

Famed author and husband punished for common industry practice Location: Castle Valley, Utah Today, on behalf of Terry Tempest Williams and Brooke Williams, the Western Environmental Law Center administratively challenged the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM)...

Agreement in Principle requires study of coal train covers, $1 million in environmental restoration and coal cleanup

Nov 16, 2016

Location: Seattle A coalition of environmental organizations and BNSF Railway (BNSF) have reached an agreement in principle that will ensure that BNSF starts to clean up and prevent pollution from their coal trains. The agreement, which is expected to be finalized as...

Obama Administration finalizes rule to protect public health, taxpayers, environment from methane waste on public lands

Nov 15, 2016

After years of advocacy by a broad coalition of partner groups across the West and in Washington, D.C., we are proud to announce that today the Obama Administration released new rules that will reduce the wholesale waste of natural gas by the oil and gas industry–the...

Northwest Forest Plan science synthesis review begins

Nov 10, 2016

Will help inform forest management efforts in Pacific Northwest Location: Portland, Ore. Today, the U.S. Forest Service released for public and heightened peer review its anticipated science synthesis, which will inform the need to revise the renowned Northwest Forest...