Two months ago, the Obama administration stunned the environmental community by removing northern gray wolves from the Endangered Species list. In doing so, the administration went along with one of the more onerous acts of the Bush administration. It also was the first major departure by the administration from the pro-environment path it had been on since Obama took office.

Conservation groups took a while to catch their collective breath and pull together the right response. Today, with a strong legal case in hand, Earthjustice led the groups into court—for the second time in a year—with a lawsuit challenging the delisting decision.

Last November, as Barack Obama won the election, we recommended a list of "easy things" the new president could immediately do to cement his promises about being a pro-environment president. This is our second update on how he's doing.

The new president's greatest achievement clearly is the abrupt reversal of the Bush-era philosophy favoring those who devour our natural resources for short term gain. He also has taken major steps towards restoring integrity to our regulatory agencies, potency to our environmental laws, and respect internationally for our country's leadership.

Nonetheless, the administration has taken some actions—for example, the delisting of northern gray wolves—that are deeply disappointing. Some of the administration actions, notably with regard to mountaintop removal mining, fall short of being complete solutions. Likewise, there remain significant environmental challenges yet to be addressed.

Spinning faster than a Kansas twister, the state's new governor has done what he led us to believe he wouldn't: approved massive expansion of the Sunflower coal-fired power plant.

This is a totally unexpected setback for those who took Gov. Mark Parkinson at his earlier word, believing that he would support the clean-energy policies of former-governor Kathleen Sebelius. Sebelius vetoed legislation that would have allowed the Sunflower expansion, then left the state to join President Obama's cabinet—with Parkinson vowing to stand by the veto.

Grins are breaking out in Colorado because of a court decision this week that stymies oil and gas drilling on New Mexico's Otero Mesa grasslands.

The 10^th Circuit Court ruled that drilling could not proceed on the Mesa because the Bureau of Land Management violated the National Environmental Protection Act with its leasing plan. In short, the court said, the plan failed to consider impacts on habitat, species and water, and didn't look at alternatives.

It's a major victory for Earthjustice and its allies, who've been fighting the plan in court since 2005.

Now that Big Coal has stumbled in New Mexico, the industry is targeting Kansas in hopes of re-igniting the expansion of coal-fired power in America.

Although their chances are slim, they are counting on a shift in state leadership to help them out. Yesterday, Kathleen Sebelius—who has four times vetoed power plant expansion legislation—relinquished her role as governor to become President Obama's Secretary of Health and Human Services. Her successor is the lieutenant governor, and born-again Republican, Mark Parkinson.

(Update: check out the excellent editorial in the Durango Herald)

A significant number of Navajos were thrilled this week at the EPA’s decision to take back the permit it issued last year—under the Bush administration--for the massive coal-fired Desert Rock power plant.

The EPA said sufficient analysis had not been done to ensure protection of health and the environment.

Proposed to be built on Navajo nation lands in New Mexico, the plant would impose a massive industrial complex on the landscape, douse the region with air pollutants, and strain critical water resources.

Nation leaders have endorsed the plant for the jobs it would bring, but a dissident group of Navajo citizens, including the group DineCare, represented by Earthjustice, see things differently:

It’s hard to know who’s happy and sad over the prospects of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius being plucked to become President Obama’s Secretary of Health and Human Services. Timing is the big issue.

A Senate committee voted in favor of her today. The full Senate is expected to also vote in her favor – but when?

In just a week, Sebelius’ veto of the Sunflower coal-fired power plants bill will be challenged in a special veto session of the state legislature. She’s won this battle three times, but what if she’s not there this time? What if she’s confirmed for HHS before then and Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson becomes governor?

The Kansas state legislature today gave final passage to a bill authorizing massive expansion of the Sunflower coal-fired power plant -- but there is unexpected good news in the vote ... it's 10 votes short of being veto-proof in the House.

This means that the promised veto from Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is more likely than ever to survive. An earlier vote in the state House had a margin of only five votes. She is expected to veto the bill next week.

UPDATE: There was a lot of confusion and misinterpretation about Tuesday's announcement by the Environmental Protection Agency that it was reviewing mountaintop removal mining permits to assess their potential impact on the waterways and people of Appalachia. Only two permits have been questioned. Dozens are under review. And the EPA is signalling that many of those may not be held up for environmental reasons.

This is nonetheless a first step towards what we have been petitioning -- and suing -- to have the federal government do. Just this month, nearly 25,000 Earthjustice supporters, along with many others across the nation, sent messages to the White House asking for a halt to this most-devastating method of coal mining.

Earthjustice is preparing to sue the Obama administration over its stunning decision to withdraw protections from northern gray wolves.

Any day now, a notice of intent to sue will be filed, giving  Interior Sec. Ken Salazar just 60 days to rescind his wolf edict or face court action.

Salazar last week said he will strip the wolf of Endangered Species Act protections, in the process endorsing one of the most infamous Bush-era actions. As a result, gray wolves could be targeted by hunters in at least two states.