Case Chronology

Ensuring Survival of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has failed to designate enough critical habitat to ensure the recovery and survival of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher.

Protecting the Conservation Reserve Program

Without public participation and without reviewing the impacts of its decision the USDA is altering the wonderfully successful Conservation Reserve Program.

Protecting the Sawtooth National Forest from excessive motorized recreation

The Sawtooth National Forest in Idaho designated a system of motorized recreation routes without including the public in the decisionmaking process, and didn’t properly account for conservation values.

Challenging the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Failure to Prepare a Recovery Plan for the threatened Canada Lynx

The Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Canada lynx (Lynx Canadensis) as a Threatened species in the lower 48 United States in 2000 and has yet to prepare a Recovery Plan to direct management efforts and ensure the species survival.

Reducing Risk of Climate Change from BLM actions

This campaign focuses on the Southwest and Southern Rockies.

Assisting Rio Arriba County, New Mexico in Implementing Oil & Gas Moratorium

Given the dramatic increase in oil and gas development in Rio Arriba County, the County Commission recently passed this moratorium to ensure that it protects its “prime feature — its land.”

Challenging Government Abdication of Duty to Recover Mexican Wolf

We are working to encourage the successful recovery of the Mexican wolf, by getting the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to re-assume responsibility for recovery it abdicated to the states of Arizona and New Mexico.

Ensuring Sufficient Water Supply for the Colorado River

WELC is working to ensure that the Department of Interior plans adequately for future low flows in the Colorado River so that the river and its resources are not harmed.

Shining a Light on Dirty Energy & Mining

Acting as local counsel for our allies at the Energy Minerals Law Center, we’re working to recover public records for Diné C.A.R.E. and the San Juan Citizens Alliance improperly withheld by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Protecting our National Forests Nationwide

For over a decade, WELC has led the fight to preserve our national forests by defending the integrity of regulations that dictate how they will be managed.

Intervention to Protect Critical Habitat of the Mexican Spotted Owl

The Western Environmental Law Center is representing the Center for Biological Diversity in intervening on behalf of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in a suit filed by the ranching industry.

Cleaning up Contamination at the Los Alamos National Laboratories

The Western Environmental Law Center recently filed a complaint in federal court on behalf of nine New Mexico community organizations and two individuals. Click above for more details.

Victory setting aside the Forest Service's rules denying citizen input at risk.

WELC going to the U.S. Supreme Court!

John Muir and Ansel Adams Wildernesses - Alleviating Damage from Commercial Packstock

This suit challenges the Forest Service’s authorization of commercial packstock uses in the John Muir and Ansel Adams Wildernesses in the Sierra Nevada in California -- two of the most popular wildernesses in the lower forty-eight states.

Travel Planning in the Southwest

In the Southwest, the Forest Service is planning for the long-term future of motorized recreation. This planning effort will have a profound impact on the Southwest’s conservation and quiet-use recreation heritage. We are providing strategic leadership and advice in this process.

Southwest National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor

WELC is challenging the Department of Energy’s failure to comply with critical environmental laws in designating the Southwest National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor.

Protecting New Mexican’s Right to Clean Water

Working closely with our strategic partner, Amigos Bravos, the Western Environmental Law Center is pursuing a variety of state-based advocacy efforts to protect New Mexicans' right to clean water.

Challenging Questionable Oil and Gas Leases in Montana

This case challenges the Bureau of Land Management’s failure to conduct appropriate environmental analyses prior to selling oil and gas leases in Southwestern Montana.

Ensuring Responsible Energy Development in the Sagebrush Sea of the Powder River Basin

The Powder River Basin of Montana and Wyoming holds important energy and wildlife resources (in particular wildlife habitat within the Sagebrush Sea). To harmonize those resources, we’re pushing the Bureau of Land Management to protect the Basin’s wildlife resources by adopting a phased development management regime to protect core habitat and control the timing and location of development, preparing a comprehensive environmental analysis, and preventing unacceptable degradation.

Giving Voice Through Law to the Southern Rockies Conservation Alliance

Often times grassroots groups are too small to afford a lawyer for their day-to-day informational needs. The Southern Rockies Conservation Alliance (SRCA) is a coalition of such groups working to protect and preserve the environment in the Southern Rocky Mountains.