Defending Special Places

Case: Conserve Southwest Utah, Conservation Lands Foundation, Center for Biological Diversity, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, The Wilderness Society, WildEarth Guardians vs. U.S. Department of the Interior, et al.

July 23, 2026 — Advocates for the West filed our opening summary judgment brief in this case. May 11, 2026 — Advocates for the West and our partners amended our February lawsuit over the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s failure to adequately protect the threatened Mojave desert tortoise when […]

Case: The Wilderness Society v. U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

January 6, 2026 — Representing The Wilderness Society, Advocates for the West filed a federal lawsuit seeking to compel the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to release records related to a joint federal initiative targeting the sale of public lands […]

Case: Daniel Torongo and BlueRibbon Coalition, Inc. v. Douglas Burgum; Bureau of Land Management; and the United States Department of the Interior

March 3, 2026 — A district court judge approved nine organizations’ request to intervene in a lawsuit to defend California’s Chuckwalla National Monument. The intervening organizations include CactusToCloud Institute, California Native Plant Society, CalWild, Center for Biological Diversity, Conservation Lands Foundation, the National Parks Conservation Association, Sierra Club, Vet Voice Foundation, and The Wilderness Society. […]

Case: Nicolette Hahn Niman, William Niman, David Evans, and Claire Herminjard v. United States Deparment of the Interior, et al.

January 23, 2026 — Following a hearing at which Advocates for the West Staff Attorney Lizzy Potter and attorneys representing federal defendants and The Nature Conservancy argued for dismissal, a federal judge dismissed a complaint filed by filed by Marin attorney Andrew Giacomini. The lawsuit erroneously alleged that the Park Service conspired with The Nature […]

Case: States of Utah and Wyoming v. Deb Haaland, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Conservation Lands Foundation, and The Wilderness Society

October 1, 2024 — Advocates for the West and our partners at Conservation Lands Foundation, The Wilderness Society, and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance filed a motion to intervene to defend BLM’s Public Lands Rule against yet another lawsuit brought this past summer by the American Farm Bureau and other industry trade associations representing the oil […]

Case: Oregon Natural Desert Association, Friends of the Nevada Wilderness, and Idaho Conservation League v. U.S. Department of the Air Force

February 4, 2026 — Advocates for the West filed our motion for summary judgment, challenging the U.S. Air Force’s July 2023 Record of Decision (ROD) and March 2023 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to expand and intensify its military trainings using F-15 fighter jets over 7.5 million acres in the Owyhee Canyonlands. Our brief argues that […]

Case: Idaho Conservation League v. U.S. Air Force

May 16, 2025 — Advocates for the West favorably settled this case. October 10, 2023 — Advocates for the West filed suit under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to compel Mountain Home Air Force Base to release public records as required by law. The records relate to the Air Force’s proposal to expand and intensify […]

Case: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and Western Watersheds Project v. Debra Haaland, Tracy Stone-Manning, and U.S. Bureau of Land Management

September 13, 2023 — Advocates for the West filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for its failure to abide by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act to determine the prioritization and timing of environmental analyses for livestock grazing allotments on public […]

Case: Wilderness Watch, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Friends of the Clearwater, and Friends of the Bitterroot v. Linda Jackson, Mary Farnsworth, and United States Forest Service

December 10, 2024 — The Court issued a memorandum decision and order dismissing the State of Idaho’s cross claims and approving our settlement with the Forest Service requiring the agency to issue corrective management instructions that the four unlawful airstrips are only open for emergency and not recreational use, and to monitor future use of […]

Case: Petition for Environmental Review of AT&T Proposed Tower in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area Near Redfish Lake, ID

January 27, 2024 — Advocates for the West filed an Application for Review, asking the Federal Communications Commission to review the denial of our Petition for Environmental Review and to require an Environmental Impact Statement or Environmental Assessment in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act for AT&T’s proposal to construct a commercial cell tower […]