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Our Cases
Northwest Forest Plan: Aquatic Conservation Strategy The Northwest Forest Plan was written to balance timber demand with wildlife needs. A part -- the Aquatic Conservation Strategy -- aims to protect salmon and clean water. The Bush administration has drastically weakened the strategy, and on March 30, 2007,  a federal court found that administration acted illegally by suppressing scientific evidence.
California Spotted Owl The Fish and Wildlife Service declined to grant federal protection to the California spotted owl arguing that a management plan known as the Sierra Framework would do so -- then it gutted the framework. Earthjustice has filed suit to seek Endangered Species Act protection for the owl.
California Logging Clean Water Exemption The Clean Water Act is meant to clean up the nation's waterways. In some areas, however, exemptions have been issued that have hampered the goal. One such is in California, where three water boards have ruled that loggers are exempt. Earthjustice is challenging the exemptions in court.
Grand Canyon Humpback Chub The population of humpback chub in the Grand Canyon has fallen by two-thirds since the species was protected 30 years ago. The reason: Glen Canyon Dam and invasive species. The recovery plan for the chub is totally inadequate to the task. Earthjustice is in court to force a better plan.
Okinawa Dugong & Proposed Airbase The American military is trying to force the Japanese government to build a new airbase on a reef used by endangered dugong (cousin to the Florida manatee) for feeding and resting. In January 2008, a federal judge ruled against the Department of Defense, ordering the DoD to consider the impact of the base on the dugong's habitat.
Central Valley Steelhead Intervention A group of irrigation districts has filed suit to strip Endangered Species Act protections from steelhead trout that spawn in rivers that flow through the Central Valley in California. Earthjustice represents fishing organizations and conservation groups trying to maintain the protections.
Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout Listing Ninety-nine percent of the Rio Grande cutthroat trout's original habitat is lost and 95% of its remaining population is subject to existing threats. But the Fish and Wildlife Service has refused to protect it under the Endangered Species Act so Earthjustice is asking for a court order.
Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog: ESA Protection A couple of years ago conservationists sued to gain Endangered Species Act protection for the yellow-legged frog in the Sierra Nevada. The government stalled, then said the species was "warranted but precluded" from protection. The suit now seeks to overturn that decision.
Sierra Framework Appeal Environmental groups have challenged the revised Sierra Framework that would triple the volume of logging on the eleven national forests in California's Sierra Nevada, while at the same time eviscerating species protections contained in the original plan, particularly for the California spotted owl and the Pacific fisher.
Orcas in Puget Sound An extended family of orca whales has made Puget Sound and associated waters its home for thousands of years. Numbers have declined sharply in recent years but it took a win in court to prod the government into protecting them. Earthjustice is keeping a close watch.
Pila`a Coral Reef Protection

The developer of a luxury subdivision on Kaua`i neglected to put in erosion-control measures. The resulting runoff damaged a coral reef essential to wildlife, subsistence fishermen, swimmers, divers and others. Earthjustice filed suit to force the developer to fix the problem and is currently monitoring a settlement agreement requiring ecosystem restoration. The settlement also imposed the largest civil penalty ever assessed for violations of the Clean Water Act at a single site.
Northwest Salmon Protections Organizations representing various industry groups have filed several suits trying to strip away Endangered Species Act protection from salmon in the Pacific Northwest. Earthjustice has intervened to defend the protections, on the theory that hatcheries can replace wild salmon and their habitat.
PCB Ghost Ship Exports There are dozens of obsolete, decaying military ships awaiting disposal. The administration, skirting federal law, tried to send 13 to England for dismantling. A lawsuit blocked nine. Four sit in limbo in England. Transport is dangerous and U.S. shipyards can do the job. The court will decide the fate of the rest.
Klamath River: Salmon Protection Earthjustice challenges long-term irrigation plan in midst of largest fishkill recorded in the Pacific Northwest.