Case: Salmon River Navigability challenge by Idaho Conservation League

January of 2014 — Advocates for the West’s Staff Attorney Bryan Hurlbutt filed a petition on behalf of the Idaho Conservation League asking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to revisit its determination from the 1930′s that Idaho’s Salmon River is not navigable. Because of this flawed determination, the Salmon River and endangered fish species are not […]

Case: Idaho Rivers United v. U.S. Forest Service

February 7, 2013 — Judge Winmill handed down final judgement in favor of Idaho Rivers United and Advocates for the West, ruling that the Forest Service does has the authority to intervene and protect the Wild and Scenic river corridor and that they failed to do so under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. […]

Case: Idaho Conservation League v. State Board of Land Commissioners and Idaho Department of Lands

November 5, 2012 — Mr. Conklin abandoned his proposal and withdrew his lease application, which is a great victory for all who enjoy the beauty of the Salmon River! October 12, 2012 — Advocates for the West filed a Petition for Judicial Review on behalf of Idaho Conservation League challenging the State of Idaho’s approval of a […]

Case: Western Watersheds Project v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, U.S. Forest Service, Jack Whitworth, and Whitworth Ranches

April 15, 2013 — We successfully settled the case. Under the terms of the settlement, the agencies withdrew their flawed ESA consultations and agreed to prepare new ones. And importantly, no grazing will occur until the new consultations are completed. September 28, 2012 — Advocates attorneys have filed the Opening Brief in our litigation to protect […]

Case: Winter Wildlands Alliance v. U.S. Forest Service

March 29, 2013 — Senior Attorney Laurie Rule received word that U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald E. Bush had ruled in our favor. In his Court Decision, Judge Bush specifically calls out Executive Order 11644, stating that the Order – “requires an agency to promulgate regulations that provide for designation of areas of use and non-use […]

Case: Valley Sun, LLC and Western Watersheds Project v. Bureau of Land Management

Advocates for the West represents Valley Sun, LLC and Western Watersheds Project on their challenge to a decision by BLM to cancel the Greenfire Preserve’s grazing permit due to reasons related to lack of grazing. On June 11, 2010, an ALJ granted Valley Sun a stay of BLM’s cancellation decision, citing potential harm identified by […]

Case: Western Watersheds Project v. David Rosenkrance, Bureau of Land Management, William Wood, U.S. Forest Service, Jeffery Foss, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, David Mabe, and NOAA Fisheries

The Pahsimeroi Valley contains key habitat for three species of Endangered Species Act-listed fish: bull trout, chinook salmon, and steelhead. Yet BLM and Forest Service have not conducted monitoring and habitat improvements as required by their own ESA consultation, which is now very outdated. Their failure to meet fish habitat requirements or to consult over […]

Case: Western Watersheds Project v. William Wood, U.S. Forest Service, Steve Hartmann, Bureau of Land Management, Jeffery Foss, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and David Mabe, and NOAA Fisheries

Advocates for the West filed three new cases in June and July 2009 for client Western Watersheds Project, suing the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management over their legal violations in managing public lands in the Pahsimeroi and Lemhi watersheds of central Idaho. The Pahsimeroi and Lemhi watersheds offer vital habitat for endangered fish – […]

Case: Snake River Basin Adjudication subcase 74-15051 et seq

We represent conservationist water right holders in the Snake River Basin Adjudication, who are objecting to 294 water right claims for “flood flows” (or “high flows”) by irrigators in the Lemhi River watershed. The Lemhi River and its tributaries are critical habitat for salmon, steelhead and bull trout; and the Lemhi River is historically dried […]

Case: IWP v. Jones

Endangered Species Act citizen suit against Verl and Tuddie Jones for unlawful “take” of threatened bull trout through operation of their unscreened diversion on Otter Creek, located on Salmon Challis National Forest public lands. We won an injunction prohibiting further diversions until the irrigator obtained a special use permit from US Forest Service, and it conducted ESA consultation […]