Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest Withdraws Controversial Big-Game Measure, Citing Sportsmen’s Suit
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
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...
Water too precious to reopen exempt well loophole
This September, on behalf of four ranchers and the Clark Fork Coalition, my colleague Matthew Bishop and I successfully challenged a rule that allowed large developments to bypass water permitting. The state Supreme Court agreed that the rule was out of step with the...
Climate youths head back to court, Gov. Inslee must justify noncompliance with court order
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
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
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
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
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...
Groups Call on Obama to Align Public Lands Management in Western CO with U.S. Climate Goals
Location: Denver Conservation groups today called on the Obama Administration to align public lands management with U.S. climate goals, in response to a draft proposal that would intensify fossil fuel extraction on one million acres of public land and mineral rights...
Court allows continued intensive, unstudied fracking in Greater Chaco
Northwest New Mexico oil drilling will continue despite risks to communities, cultural resources and environment Location: Santa Fe Hopes for a respite from a fracking boom plaguing Navajo and public lands in New Mexico’s Greater Chaco area were thwarted Thursday when...