Conservationists Condemn Premature Stripping of Protections for Yellowstone’s Grizzlies
Planned Trophy Hunts Would Fundamentally Undermine Grizzly Recovery Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it is finalizing its flawed proposal to strip grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem of Endangered Species Act protections despite...
WELC Statement: Interior to Rewrite or Rescind BLM Methane Rule
Sec. Zinke provides conflicting information to court, Congress Yesterday, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke told the Senate Energy Committee the Trump administration will rewrite or rescind the Bureau of Land Management methane waste rule. The methane rule, which...
House Logging Bill (HR 2936) Guts Federal Environmental Laws, Literally Privatizes Public Lands, Creates Logging Free-for-All
Tomorrow, the U.S. House of Representatives begins its consideration of HR 2936, known as the Westerman Bill after its author, Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR). The bill contains a cornucopia of loopholes, exemptions and categorical exclusions for environmental, judicial,...
Conservation Groups File Series of Lawsuits to Enforce Transparency Under Trump
Federal Government Stonewalling Efforts to Obtain Public Information on Wildlife, Environment In a series of legal actions filed today and yesterday, WildEarth Guardians and the Western Environmental Law Center stepped up their efforts to compel the Trump...
Interior bows to oil and gas industry, allows continued methane waste
BLM rule delay defies Congress' will, harms taxpayers, public health, environment Today, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced plans to indefinitely delay implementation of key parts of the BLM methane waste rule beyond the original compliance date of January...
Groups challenge expansion of largest coal mine in Montana
Today, a coalition of conservation and clean energy advocates challenged a decision by the U.S. Department of the Interior to allow Cloud Peak Energy to strip mine nearly 100 million tons of publicly owned coal from 1,000 acres of public lands without ever conducting...
Protecting Spokane River summertime flows goes to court
Contacts: Andrew Hawley, Western Environmental Law Center, (206) 487-7250, gro.w1757809915alnre1757809915tsew@1757809915yelwa1757809915h1757809915 Dan Von Seggern, Center for Environmental Law & Policy, (206) 829-8299, gro.p1757809915lec@n1757809915regge1757809915snovd1757809915 John Roskelley, Center for Environmental Law & Policy, (509)...
Washington Wildlife Officials Too Quick to Kill Wolves
Contacts: John Mellgren, Western Environmental Law Center, 541-359-0990, gro.w1757809915alnre1757809915tsew@1757809915nergl1757809915lem1757809915 Amaroq Weiss, Center for Biological Diversity, 707-779-9613, gro.y1757809915tisre1757809915vidla1757809915cigol1757809915oib@s1757809915siewa1757809915 Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officials late Thursday released a...
WELC statement on U.S. withdrawal from Paris climate agreement
Contact: Erik Schlenker-Goodrich, Western Environmental Law Center, 575-770-1295, gro.w1757809915alnre1757809915tsew@1757809915gskir1757809915e1757809915 Today, President Trump stated he will withdraw the United States from the landmark Paris climate agreement. This would deliberately reject the will of over 70...
Senate rejects bid to kill sensible BLM methane rule
In a close vote, the Senate chose today to protect taxpayers, public health, and the environment by preserving the Bureau of Land Management methane waste rule. Today's vote reflects the will of the public, which launched a massive effort to keep the common-sense rule...