Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service denied petitions from Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming to eliminate Endangered Species Act protections for grizzly bears. Scientific evidence clearly shows grizzlies are not yet recovered.  “The law requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to rely on scientific evidence—not politics—for decisions about its work to restore populations of […] The post Science prevails: Grizzlies to keep endangered species protections  appeared first on Western Environmental Law Center ..read more

In a historic ruling today, the Montana Supreme Court affirmed 6-1 the decision of the district court in the landmark case, Held v. State of Montana, siding with the 16 youth plaintiffs who had sued the state over its promotion of fossil fuel extraction and its failure to consider climate change impacts in its decision-making. […] The post Montana Supreme Court affirms landmark youth-led climate decision, upholding constitutional rights to a safe and livable climate appeared first on Western Environmental Law Center ..read more

Outgoing fossil fuel booster Sen. Joe Manchin’s latest effort at passing “permitting reform,” characterized as a “Dirty Deal” because it would grease the wheels for expanded oil and gas drilling on public lands and mandate liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports as called for by Project 2025, has failed. “A just transition demands we center people […] The post Permitting “Dirty Deal” dead: 680 orgs opposed EPRA, Sen. Manchin set for retirement appeared first on Western Environmental Law Center ..read more

As morning light arrives just behind the hills of Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park, a distant song greets the gathering crowd. A hundred determined watchers bearing scopes and their trusty cameras line one plateau and another, eager to catch their first glimpse of the mysterious vocalists. Soon, whispered cries of joy begin — the […] The post Wolves Belong appeared first on Western Environmental Law Center ..read more

On December 9th, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final designation decision that stormwater discharges from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Los Alamos County are contributing to violations of water quality standards and that these discharges require a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit under the federal Clean Water Act. The […] The post EPA finalizes determination of water quality violations in Los Alamos County; PCBs in some areas more than 10,000 times safety limits appeared first on Western Environmental Law Center ..read more

Community and conservation groups successfully defended a “proximity proposal” and other provisions of New Mexico’s ozone precursor rule from an Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico (IPANM) challenge before the New Mexico Court of Appeals. IPANM’s legal challenge was rejected by the New Mexico Court of Appeals.  The “proximity proposal” requires increased leak detection and […] The post Community, conservation groups successfully defend NM clean air rule from industry challenge appeared first on Western Environmental Law Center ..read more

Just before the Thanksgiving holiday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalized a recovery plan and proposed new critical habitat designations for threatened Canada lynx, including for the first time areas in the southern Rockies. Conservation groups had prevailed in two court cases seeking to compel the Service to take action to aid lynx recovery […] The post Feds finalize Canada lynx recovery plan, propose first-ever habitat protections in CO, NM appeared first on Western Environmental Law Center ..read more

This morning, the federal House of Representatives voted 219-184 to pass H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act. The bill, framed as an anti-terrorism bill, would give the president, via the Secretary of the Treasury, the power to revoke the nonprofit status of advocacy organizations, news outlets, schools, they decide, […] The post House passes bill to weaponize tax code against nonprofits appeared first on Western Environmental Law Center ..read more

On Friday, a federal district court in Missoula ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s wildlife-killing program Wildlife Services failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act before killing or removing grizzly bears in Montana. Management killing and removal is the leading cause of grizzly bear mortality. Conservation groups WildEarth Guardians, Western Watersheds Project, […] The post Court rules federal program that kills grizzly bears and other wildlife in Montana violated the law appeared first on Western Environmental Law Center ..read more

This morning, we are reminded of Terry Tempest Williams’ haunting declaration: “Finding beauty in a broken world is creating beauty in the world we find.” In the coming months, we will need—more than ever—to create that beauty. For we now find ourselves, once again, facing a challenging and chaotic political era—a second Trump presidency.  But […] The post Statement on Trump election: The West’s lands, waters, and life are resilient. So are we. We are in this together—again. appeared first on Western Environmental Law Center ..read more