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Defending the West's Public Lands & Forests

WELC's Public Lands and Forests work

National forests and public lands comprise more than fifty percent of the West. These lands provide drinking water for local communities, vital habitat for rare wildlife, and opportunities for recreational and spiritual renewal for all citizens. Together with more than eighty organizations, the Western Environmental Law Center has protected hundreds of thousands of forested acres, 31,000 acres of fragile burned areas, and 1,484 miles of wild rivers that run through the West.

MacDonald Pass: Protecting a Key Wildlife Corridor: The U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Army National Guard are proposing to build a new biathlon training facility directly within an extremely important but narrow wildlife corridor on the continental divide.
VICTORY! WELC Propels New Mexico to Forefront of Global Warming Solutions: The result: a pioneering rule requiring a host of industries – including power plants, oil refineries, and upstream oil and gas development operations – to report both major and minor source greenhouse gas emissions.
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.
Keeping the Grand Canyon Wild!: We forced the Bureau of Reclamation to reassess the impacts of the Glen Canyon Dam on imperiled native fish species throughout the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River ecosystem.
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.

WELC Sues Forest Service Over Attempts to Remove Protections for Wildlife Across the Country: WELC files suit on behalf of 14 conservation organizations
Tell state leaders to take action NOW on climate change!

Related News: WELC Sues Forest Service Over Attempts to Remove Protections for Wildlife Across the Country; Tell state leaders to take action NOW on climate change!; More news...

Also See: Welcome to our Climate Change Center; Staff; Our Work by Region