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: Cascadia Wildlands, Willamette Riverkeeper, Oregon Wild, and Native Fish Society v. Eugene Water and Electric Board

April 22, 2026 — Advocates for the West and our partners submitted a petition to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) requesting a cost and viability comparison of volitional passage at the Trail Bridge Dam on the McKenzie River, and interim improvements to temporary fish passage protocols pending the long-delayed installation of permanent fish passage….

Case: Save the South Fork Salmon, Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, Earthworks, Center for Biological Diversity, and American Rivers v. U.S. Forest Service, et al.

August 25, 2026 — Advocates for the West and our partners filed an appeal seeking to reverse federal agencies’ unlawful approval of the Stibnite Gold Project and halt Perpetua Resources’ initial mine construction. The proposed open-pit cyanide leach gold mine would jeopardize public health and clean water, harm threatened species and permanently scar thousands of…

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: Western Watersheds Project vs. U.S. Forest Service

October 15, 2024 — Advocates for the West favorably settled this case. June 20, 2024 — Advocates for the West filed suit under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to compel the U.S. Forest Service to release public records as required by law. The case involves two separate FOIA requests sent to the Forest Service regarding…

Case: Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, Save the South Fork Salmon, and Earthworks v. Idaho Department of Environmental Quality

August 7, 2026 — Advocates for the West filed our opening brief in this matter challenging a Clean Water Act Section 401 water quality certification issued by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. In May 2026, we filed an amended appeal of a water pollution permit issued under Section 401 of the federal Clean Water…

Case: Center for Biological Diversity v. Keith E. Berger, in his official capacity as Field Manager for the U.S. Bureau of land Management's Royal Gorge Field Office, and Bureau of Land Management

August 14, 2026 — Advocates for the West filed our opening brief on appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, challenging the BLM’s failure to require basic environmental safeguards in the extraction of federal minerals, and asking the Court to reverse the district court’s judgment and remand the case for further…

Case: Columbia Riverkeeper and 1000 Friends of Oregon v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

January 8, 2026 — In response to the lawsuit brought by Advocates for the West and our partners, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined that NEXT Renewable Fuels, Inc.’s current proposal to construct a diesel refinery at Port Westward requires another major federal permit. Construction for NEXT’s proposed refinery and rail yard would involve driving heavy…

Case: WildEarth Guardians and Western Watersheds Project v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

December 15, 2025 — A Montana federal court judge issued a ruling granting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s plan to reevaluate its determination justifying livestock grazing at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Montana’s Centennial Valley, to reconsider its grazing permit approach, and to reevaluate the environmental impacts of commercial cattle grazing at…

Case: Upper Crooked River Conservationists and Shotgun Ranch, LLC v. Water Resources Department of the State of Oregon and Water Resources Commission of the State of Oregon

February 11, 2025 — Advocates for the West won a victory to protect fish and wildlife in Oregon’s Crooked River. The Crook County Circuit Court rejected several ranchers’ attempt to invalidate the water right issued by the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) to protect flows for fish and wildlife in the lower Crooked River. The…