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Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. (iStock)
Article: Victory July 16, 2024

Mainers Send a Message to Mining Industry: “Don’t Come for Katahdin”

State regulator rejects a mining proposal from an inexperienced company that would have threatened an area of pristine water important to local tribes.

Grizzly bear near Swan Lake Flats in Yellowstone National Park. (Jim Peaco / National Park Service)
Press Release: Victory June 28, 2024

Court Ruling Recognizes Roads Harm Grizzly Bears in Flathead National Forest

Conservation groups secure another win for grizzly bears and bull trout

document June 28, 2024

Flathead Forest Roadbuilding – Order

A Montana District Court ruling recognized that grizzly bears are indeed impacted by existing roadways that do not receive motorized use, which the agencies failed to consider when allowing increased roadbuilding in the Flathead National Forest. Grizzly bears have learned to avoid roads — even closed roads — and are often displaced from habitat that features them.

View of Antelope Island on the Great Salt Lake. (Nick Pedersen / Getty Images)
Press Release May 6, 2024

Three-Dozen Law Professors File Amicus Brief in Support of Great Salt Lake Lawsuit

Professors argue public trust doctrine requires the state to intervene on excessive water use

document May 3, 2024

Great Salt Lake: Amicus Brief from 36 Law Professors

The state of Utah has violated its fundamental legal duty to protect the Great Salt Lake against impairment due to dwindling water inflows, 36 law professors told a state court. The professors asked the court to consider an amicus – or “friend of the court” – brief in support of conservation groups’ lawsuit against the state of Utah for its failure to ensure that enough water reaches the Great Salt Lake.

(Steve Geer / Getty Images)
From the Experts April 30, 2024

Congress is Trying to Weaken the Endangered Species Act. Again.

A new bill to remove ESA protections needed for wolves and grizzly bears has been proposed.

document April 26, 2024

Great Salt Lake: Combined Opposition – Response to Motions to Dismiss

Conservation groups file a 135-page response to the numerous motions to dismiss in the Great Salt Lake lawsuit.

Montana’s cold, clean streams contain some of the last prime habitat in the United States for threatened bull trout, whose historic range has shrunk by half.
(Joel Sartore / National Geographic Stock / U.S. FWS)
Press Release: Victory March 13, 2024

Court Again Finds Flathead National Forest Roadbuilding Harms Grizzly Bears and Bull Trout

Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service did not lawfully examine impacts to species

document March 12, 2024

Flathead National Forest Findings

A Montana District Court ruling found that significant new roadbuilding projects in the Flathead National Forest will negatively impact Endangered Species Act-listed grizzly bears and bull trout. The court found that the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not lawfully examine the impacts to these species when the agencies greenlit the roadbuilding plan in 2018.

The Puyallup River, with Mount Tahoma (Rainier) in the background. (David Seibold / CC BY-NC 2.0)
Update February 22, 2024

In a Win for Endangered Salmon, Court Orders Puyallup River Dam Removal

Electron Dam has been harming Chinook salmon, steelhead, and trout for nearly 100 years. With part of the dam gone, the river will flow naturally for the first time in almost a century.

In the News: Missoula Current February 22, 2024

Judge hears arguments on Flathead Forest roads, grizzlies

Tim Preso, Managing Attorney, Biodiversity Defense Program: “The science showing that roads continue to displace bears goes all the way back to (1995) and hasn’t changed. The problem is they’ve never applied that science to look at what is the consequence of having all that road network out there in terms of the displacement effect…

The Puyallup River, with Mount Tahoma (Rainier) in the background. (David Seibold / CC BY-NC 2.0)
Press Release: Victory February 16, 2024

Court Rules “Temporary” Structure at Electron Dam Site Violates Endangered Species Act

Ruling will mean a free-flowing Puyallup River for fish for the first time in more than 100 years

document February 16, 2024

Electron Dam Summary Judgment Order

A portion of Washington’s Electron Dam must be removed from the Puyallup River following a historic district court ruling. The decision will allow water to flow naturally along the river for the first time in nearly 100 years.

Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. (iStock)
Press Release: Victory February 14, 2024

Mining Proposal Rejected for Maine’s Katahdin Region

Decision comes after overwhelming opposition from Wabanaki Tribes, local businesses, and conservation groups

Grizzly bear near Canyon, Yellowstone National Park. (Neal Herbert / NPS)
From the Experts January 18, 2024

Grizzly Bears Still Need Protections

Despite their precarious status, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently considering petitions from Wyoming and Montana to delist grizzly bears. Here’s how you can help.

View of Antelope Island on the Great Salt Lake. (Nick Pedersen / Getty Images)
Press Release January 17, 2024

State of Utah Releases Inadequate Plan to Save the Great Salt Lake

Conservation groups demand that the state stop approving and address upstream water diversions

A horseshoe crab in the Delaware Bay near Fortescue, N.J. (Aristide Economopoulos for Earthjustice)
From the Experts January 11, 2024

A Pathway to End the Medical Harvest of Horseshoe Crabs

The biomedical industry harvests massive quantities of horseshoe crabs every year, threatening a number of migratory birds that rely on the crabs as a food source. But synthetic alternatives may soon be available.

Illustrations by Emily Schnall
Article December 15, 2023

How Our Fight for 4 Species Helped Save the Sierra Nevada

A decades-long fight for four imperiled species — and an entire landscape — is nearly complete.