Helena Hunters successfully defend Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest travel plan
Late last week, the Helena Hunters and Anglers Association (Helena Hunters) received a favorable order in a case in which the group intervened to defend the U.S. Forest Service’s Divide Travel Plan for the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. Motorized off-road...
WELC, allies will relentlessly pursue NM Oil and Gas Justice and Reform Act
The Senate Conservation Committee’s swift 6-3 passage of SB 418, the much-needed New Mexico Oil and Gas Justice and Reform Act, shows promise for reform of the outdated 1935 law in the near future. We have received word, unfortunately, that the bill won’t proceed...
WELC statement on NM SB520: The Clean Future Act
As the New Mexico legislation enters its final days, we applaud Senate President Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart for her introduction of SB520, the Clean Future Act. This bill—though modest and yet still facing an uphill battle in the legislature—would nonetheless prove a...
WELC statement in opposition to NM HB12: The Advanced Energy Technology Act
WELC is opposed to HB12, the Advanced Energy Technology Act, introduced in New Mexico’s 2023 legislative session. We fully support the creation of an Economic Transition and Justice Division to provide essential, long-needed support for New Mexico workers and...
Jenna M.A. Kloeppel joins WELC staff as development director
The Western Environmental Law Center, a nonprofit public-interest environmental law firm, is proud to announce Jenna M.A. Kloeppel as its new development director. Jenna comes to WELC with 10 years of experience in fundraising and sales in the arts. She has worked for...
Sen. Jaramillo introduces bill to modernize 1935 Oil & Gas Act
New Mexico Sen. Leo Jaramillo (D-5) of Rio Arriba County introduced the New Mexico Oil and Gas Justice and Reform Act (SB 418) to modernize the 1935 Oil and Gas Act. The bill, supported by a broad range of New Mexico community groups, aims to ensure that any...
Landmark court ruling will protect water sources, ranchers near Bull Mountains underground coal mine
A federal judge in Montana District Court has halted the mining of federal coal at Signal Peak Energy’s Bull Mountains Underground Coal Mine near Roundup, pending a thorough analysis of the mine’s impacts on ranchers, vital water sources, and the surrounding...
Legal filing targets North Dakota’s latest lawsuit to force more oil and gas lease sales on public lands
Climate and conservation groups defended the Biden administration in a brief filed today responding to a lawsuit brought by North Dakota seeking to force the federal government to hold more oil and gas lease sales in the state. North Dakota sued last month, claiming...
Conservation groups to defend Biden administration postponement of oil, gas lease sales
Seventeen groups represented by Earthjustice and the Western Environmental Law Center moved to intervene (legal documents available at end of release, one for each case) today to defend the Biden administration’s postponement of several oil and gas lease sales. A...
Federal appeals court rejects oil and gas drilling and fracking in northwest New Mexico’s Greater Chaco region
A federal appeals court yesterday rejected the Biden administration’s defense of unchecked oil and gas fracking in the Greater Chaco region of northwest New Mexico, ruling the U.S. Interior Department flouted the law when approving 199 drilling permits in the...
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