Wildlife and Places

Weedy sea dragon. (David Doubilet / daviddoubilet.com

Stormy Waters: Protecting The Ocean Ecosystem


Earthjustice litigation is stemming the tide against pollution, habitat loss, overfishing and even climate change.  Read more.

Preserving Our Natural Heritage
Representing national and local organizations around the country, Earthjustice's legal victories ensure that our wildlife, waterways, and public lands are preserved—not just for this generation, but for those yet to come.

  • Protect Endangered Wildlife: Through our pioneering legal work, Earthjustice has amassed a tremendously successful track record of protecting America's endangered species.
  • Preserve Our Public Lands: Earthjustice attorneys and policy experts have preserved millions of acres of pristine wilderness.
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Latest Legal Cases

Legal Fight For Long Overdue Coal Ash Protections
Every day, power plants generate over 400,000 tons of toxic coal ash. Most of this waste, which is filled with arsenic, mercury, lead, selenium, cadmium and other pollutants that cause cancer and more, is simply dumped into unlined and unmonitored landfills and ponds. On behalf of 11 national and local environmental and public health groups, Earthjustice is suing the federal government to set a deadline to adopt federal coal ash protections.
Grand Canyon Uranium Mining
Earthjustice has intervened to defend the U.S. Department of the Interior’s 20-year ban on new uranium mining claims across 1 million acres of public lands adjacent to the Grand Canyon.
Idaho Clean Water Protections
Earthjustice is challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of weak Idaho state water pollution rules that don’t adequately protect Idaho’s cleanest rivers, lakes and streams including cold-water streams that support native trout. These are waters that are the cleanest and best suited to support fisheries and recreation.
More Cases

Make a contribution

Photo of polar bear.
Donate nowThis is worth fighting for.
And you can give it a fighting chance.
Earthjustice is using the courts to protect polar bear habitat from unsound oil and gas development. It's just one of the ways we're preserving our natural heritage, safeguarding health, and promoting a clean energy future. Join us today.

Recent Blog Posts

Scofflaw Bison Occupy Private Grazing Lands Near...
Authorities called in to detain 27 animals by David Lawlor
Friday Finds: Fracked Beer’s Killer Buzz
Cruel pizza toppings, superweed takeover, Hollywood bags the bag by Jessica Knoblauch
A Victory—and Challenges Ahead—for the Green River
Water pipeline permit denied, Endangered river spared for now by Doug Pflugh

Featured Stories

How The Earth Got A Lawyer
40th Anniversary Special Feature: For more than 100 years, miners, rascals and even Mickey Mouse failed to tame one of America's wildest places. Nature defeated most of those misguided adventurers, but it took the partnership of some plucky lawyers to finally preserve the Sierra's majestic Mineral King. Their pioneering efforts laid the cornerstone of environmental law and gave birth to Earthjustice.
Read more.
Court Gives Grizzlies Something To Sleep On
In an ecosystem where all life is interrelated and connected, the decline of one life form can precipitate the decline of another. In other words, as the whitebark pine seeds go, so go the Yellowstone grizzlies. In November 2011, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling that reinstated Endangered Species Act protections for Yellowstone’s iconic grizzly bear population.
Read more.
40 Earthjustice Victories For The Earth
Earthjustice was born amid the national passion that marked the first Earth Day in 1970 and launched the modern environmental movement. Since then, mostly through legal efforts, we've scored hundreds of victories on behalf of the environment. Here are 40 of our proudest accomplishments.
Read more.
The Arctic: On Thin Ice
In 2011, U.S. scientists confirmed that the Arctic lost the second highest annual amount of ice since monitoring began. It’s possible to slow the pace of warming and melting in the Arctic in the near term by reducing emissions of soot and smog, which would have fast climate benefits.
Read more.
Crown of the Continent: Taming the Wild West
The "Crown of the Continent" ecosystem is one of the largest undeveloped landscapes remaining in the country, containing some of the most spectacular scenery and intact wildlife populations in the United States. But climate change is now dramatically altering this region, one of America's last wild places.
Read more.
Restoring Clarity to Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe's famed clarity has been clouded by increased human activity and urban development. But now, extensive shoreline development will be stalled by a court victory brought about by Earthjustice and our clients.
Read more.
Port Clyde: A Way of Life Revived
Fishermen in Port Clyde, Maine, are modeling a standard that allows them to continue their fishing tradition, while also allowing the fish stocks to rebound.
Read more.
Restore Stream Flow
Water in Hawai`i is a public trust resource, protected under the State constitution and Water Code. Government agencies, including the Water Commission, have a duty to protect and restore ecological uses, traditional and customary Hawaiian practices, recreation, and scenic values.
Read more.
Save Our Skins: Congress v. The Environment
The Endangered Species Act is under attack. From Congress. Politicians are risking the future of wolves, salmon, polar bears and more. Read commentary from Wolf, Salmon, and Polar Bear, and learn about the challenges these species are facing.
Read more.
Oceans: Stormy Waters
Earthjustice’s ocean litigation is working to broaden the federal government's fragmented approach by taking a more holistic view of the ocean ecosystem, a crucial tactic in buffering the ocean against climate change impacts.
Read more.