4-15-26 Voices for the West — Fool’s Gold: Digging into the Proposed Stibnite Mine
We’re joined by Shannon Wheeler, Chairman of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee; Sydney Anderson, Mining and Policy Manager at Idaho Rivers United; Josh Johnson, Central Idaho Director at the Idaho Conservation League; and Bryan Hurlbutt, Staff Attorney at Advocates for the West. The panel unpacks the far-reaching risks the massive Stibnite Gold Mine proposal […]
Victory! Army Corps Permit Required for NEXT Refinery’s Levee Impacts
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. Represented by Advocates for the West, Columbia Riverkeeper and 1000 Friends of Oregon in 2024 sued the Army Corps for failing to require this permit, which would protect levee infrastructure from NEXT’s […]
2025 Advocates for the West Victories
Sage-grouse and the Sagebrush Sea We won a significant victory in our sweeping case challenging thousands of oil and gas leases in sage-grouse habitats. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the first Trump administration illegally approved hundreds of oil and gas leases on public lands in “Phase One” of our […]
2025 Fall/Winter Case Notes
Get the latest on the work we’re doing to protect the West’s public lands, water, fish, and wildlife! Read the latest edition of our Case Notes newsletter here.
Smoke and Mirrors for Perpetua’s Proposed Stibnite Gold Mine
By Meredith Diamond Last month, Perpetua Resources held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Stibnite Mining District within Idaho’s South Fork Salmon River watershed, with Idaho Governor Brad Little, U.S. Army Major General John Reim, and U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Undersecretary Kristin Sleeper in attendance. That same day, the U.S. Forest Service issued a conditional […]
9-3-2025 Voices for the West: What’s NEXT? Oregon’s Massively ‘False’ Climate Solution
We’re joined by Clatskanie, OR-area residents and farmers Tracy Prescott-MacGregor and Scott MacGregor, Columbia Riverkeeper Staff Attorney Audrey Leonard, and Advocates for the West Staff Attorney Andrew Missel to discuss the misguided NEXT refinery proposal in the Columbia River Estuary. The second largest of its kind in the nation, the NEXT refinery’s energy-intensive process to […]
Local Residents and River Advocates Sue Oregon over Water Quality Permit for NEXT Refinery
Advocates for the West filed suit against the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on behalf of Columbia Riverkeeper, the Northwest Environmental Defense Center, and two local residents for issuing a water quality permit for the proposed NEXT refinery located adjacent to the Columbia River Estuary near Clatskanie, OR. “At a time when the federal […]
4-30-25 Voices for the West — A Dam Problem: Fighting to Save Salmon in Oregon’s Willamette River Basin
We’re joined by Kathleen George, Council Member for the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde; Jennifer Fairbrother, Legislative & Policy Director at Native Fish Society; and Laurie Rule, Senior Attorney at Advocates for the West to discuss ongoing efforts to save native fish in Oregon’s Willamette River Basin from the threat of extinction. View the full […]
Stibnite Gold Mine Plan fails to address concerns about toxic mine pollution
On Friday, September 6, the U.S. Forest Service released the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Draft Record of Decision (DROD) for the Stibnite Gold Project. The planned open-pit cyanide vat leach gold mine in Idaho’s Salmon River Mountains would jeopardize public health and clean water, harm threatened species, violate Indigenous treaty rights, and permanently […]
Federal Government Acknowledges Harm to Tribes from Dams
By Leonardo Aleksander Ryan The Columbia River Basin is easily one of the most integral parts of the Pacific Northwest because of the cultural and historical significance it holds. In a recent press release, the Nez Perce Tribe heralded a new federal analysis of Columbia River dams’ impacts on Tribes of the area as reinforcing […]