Case: Nez Perce Tribe v. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Petition for Judicial Review
August 31, 2021 – The Nez Perce Tribe reached a settlement agreement with the state of Oregon resolving a case that Advocates for the West filed—along with the Tribe’s Office of Legal Counsel—challenging the state of Oregon’s Clean Water Act section 401 water quality certification for the relicensing of the Hells Canyon Complex. The Hells Canyon Complex, owned […]
Case: Western Watersheds Project, WildEarth Guardians, Center for Biological Diversity and Prairie Hills Audubon Society v. David Bernhardt, Joseph R. Balash, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Forest Service
February 11, 2021 – U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill ruled strongly in our favor on this case, overturning a Trump Administration decision to strip protections from 10 million acres, mostly in Nevada and Idaho, to allow mining in critical habitat for greater sage-grouse. The court upheld our claim that the BLM failed to provide a […]
Case: Greater Hells Canyon Council v. Kris Stein and United States Forest Service
January 10, 2018 — Advocates for the West partnered with Jennifer R. Schwartz to file suit against the U.S. Forest Service for failing to protect a unique and biologically diverse stretch of Oregon canyon country between the Imnaha and Snake Rivers from livestock grazing impacts. The Forest Service completed its Lower Imnaha Range Analysis (LIRA) — […]
Case: Advocates for the West v. United States Department of Justice
October 12, 2017 – Advocates for the West is representing itself in a suit filed today by Senior Attorney Todd Tucci against Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Department of Justice, seeking disclosure of unlawfully withheld documents demonstrating that President Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke lack authority to vacate or shrink Bears Ears National Monument, Grand Staircase Escalante […]
Case: Intent to Sue for Violation of the Endangered Species Act
October 28, 2016 – Advocates for the West reached a settlement agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation and several irrigation districts to protect the Upper Deschutes River. The agreement authorizes a temporary boost in water flows to reduce harm to the Oregon spotted frog and its habitat. February 9, 2016 – Advocates for the West filed a preliminary injunction […]
Case: Oregon Wild, Friends of Living Oregon Waters, and Western Watersheds Project v. Constance Cummins, U.S. Forest Service, Laurie R. Sada, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
July 22, 2015 — Advocates for the West’s Senior Attorney Laurie Rule and Staff Attorney Lizzy Zultoski partnered with David H. Becker to file a complaint on behalf of clients Oregon Wild, Friends of Living Oregon Waters, and Western Watersheds Project in U.S. District Court in Medford, Oregon over grazing in the Fremont-Winema National Forest. […]
Case: Oregon Wild, Friends of Living Oregon Waters, and Western Watersheds Project v. U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
December 22, 2015 — On behalf of our clients OregonWild, Friends of Living Oregon Waters, and Western Watersheds Project, Advocates for the West submitted Summary Judgment. May 26, 2015 — Advocates for the West’s Senior Attorney Laurie Rule partnered with David H. Becker to file a complaint on behalf of clients Oregon Wild, Friends of Living […]
Case: Concerned Friends of the Winema, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, Western Watersheds Project, Oregon Wild, and Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Forest Service
January 24, 2017 — In an exciting wrap-up to this important case, District Judge Aiken adopted in-full Judge Clarke’s ruling, which means that the biological opinion in question is vacated and the Forest Service must reinitiate consultation over the spotted frog. The agency will also be unable to issue new permits unless they demonstrate to […]
Case: Wild Wilderness, Winter Wildlands Alliance, and Bend Backcountry Alliance v. John Allen, U.S. Forest Service
August 19, 2015 — Advocates for the West filed a reply brief. The brief states that the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) attempted to refute our client’s claims obscuring the real issues, relying on our client’s “concessions,” and offering post hoc explanations for its decision rather than even attempting to defend the actual explanations found in […]
Case: Oregon Natural Desert Association and Audubon Society of Portland v. Ken Salazar and Bureau of Land Management
May 26, 2016 — Oregon Natural Desert Association won a 9th circuit court ruling that an environmental review by the BLM failed to adequately address the population of greater sage-grouse during winter at the proposed wind farm facility at Steens Mountain. ONDA filed the appeal with the 9th circuit following our 2013 settlement, after the […]