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Kendall Edmo, with her two year old daughter, in the Badger-Two Medicine.
(Rebecca Drobis for Earthjustice)
feature September 1, 2023

Too Sacred To Drill

The Blackfeet Nation has prevailed in a four-decade fight to fend off oil and gas development in the Badger-Two Medicine region of Montana.

The Grand Teton mountain range. (Ed Freeman / Getty Images)
Press Release August 16, 2023

Federal Court Ruling Favors Wyoming Coal Plants, Threatening Communities and Parks

Ruling a setback for human health and national park scenic views, including Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Badlands National Parks.

Bryce Canyon National Park.
(Shutterstock)
Press Release August 14, 2023

Federal Court Ruling Again Lets Utah’s Worst Polluters off the Hook From Cleaning Up Emissions

Decision will harm human health and ruin views in national parks

Document August 14, 2023

Utah Regional Haze Decision

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a petition for review that would bring some of Utah’s worst polluting coal plants into compliance with the Clean Air Act’s visibility-protection provisions, instead enabling the Hunter and Huntington plants to continue polluting at the same damaging levels they have for more than a decade. The decision allows polluters to continue threatening air quality for Utah’s communities and muddies views at treasured national parks.

The Kaibab National Forest, just south of the Grand Canyon National Park. (Wirestock / Getty Images)
Update August 8, 2023

New National Monument Protects Grand Canyon Region from Uranium Mining

Heeding calls from tribal leaders, President Biden designated nearly a million acres as Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument.

Bison are a keystone species, creating a cascade of environmental conditions that benefit countless other wildlife. As bison graze, they prune and encourage growth of native grasses, fertilize the soils, and carve out habitat for smaller creatures. The Northern Rockies office has protected bison and their iconic prairie ecosystem for decades. (Ami Vitale for Earthjustice)
feature August 7, 2023

Northern Rockies

Highlights of how Earthjustice’s Northern Rockies office has leveraged the power of partnership and the law to defend communities, sacred lands and wildlife, and clean air and water.

Tribal members from the Fort Belknap Indian Community monitor mine pollution in South Big Horn Creek near the Zortman-Landusky mine complex in Montana. (Assiniboine and Gros Ventre Tribes / CC BY 2.0)
From the Experts June 28, 2023

Demanding Accountability in Montana’s Little Rocky Mountains

Illegal mining in the Zortman-Landusky Reclamation Area has worsened an environmental justice disaster for the Fort Belknap Indian Community.

Press Release June 27, 2023

Federal Court Prohibits Enforcement of Changes to Montana’s Mining Law for Seven Months

Montana Legislature’s attempts to weaken state’s coal mining laws put on hold

Document June 27, 2023

Order Enjoining Enforcement of HB 576 and SB 392

A federal judge has approved a stipulation by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) not to “take any action to apply, effectuate, or enforce the provisions of HB 576 or SB 392” for seven months.

In the News: Montana Free Press June 23, 2023

The Montana Supreme Court takes up permitting for Black Butte copper project

Jenny Harbine, Managing Attorney, Northern Rockies Office, Earthjustice “It’s not enough to say that there’s a pretty good chance that this mine will operate as planned and environmental harm will be avoided. That’s not what the statute requires, and that’s not good enough for the Smith River or its tributaries, which have irreplaceable values to…

Dean Stiffarm of Fort Belknap, Mont., holds a glass of water contaminated by the Zortman-Landusky mines. (Earthworks)
Press Release June 21, 2023

Tribes, Conservation Groups Seek Intervention in Enforcement Action Against Little Rocky Mountains Miners

Intervention defends Montana DEQ in its challenge to illegal mining at Zortman gold mine

Document June 21, 2023

Motion for Intervention in Enforcement Action Against Little Rocky Mountains Miners

Intervention defends Montana DEQ in its challenge to illegal mining at Zortman gold mine

North Antelope Rochelle Mine, Campbell County, Wyoming. (Ecoflight)
From the Experts June 12, 2023

It Is Time To End the Era of Coal

Continuing to mine coal from public lands is fundamentally incompatible with the urgent action required to protect communities and combat climate change.

Press Release June 1, 2023

Groups Challenge Legislature’s Unlawful Attempts to Weaken Montana Coal Laws

Federal law requires state to obtain approval before such changes are made

Document June 1, 2023

Montana SMCRA Complaint

Groups filed suit in Montana District Court challenging two recent laws passed by the 2023 Montana Legislature intended to weaken water and environmental protections from coal mining.

Lake Koocanusa by Libby Dam in northwest Montana. (Lisa Kyle Young / Getty Images)
Press Release May 18, 2023

Conservation Groups Go to Court Alongside Montana DEQ to Protect Montana and Idaho Waters From Canadian Coal Mine Pollution

Suit claims the Montana Board of Environmental Review attempted to illegally invalidate water quality protections for selenium in Lake Koocanusa

Document May 18, 2023

Montana Selenium Complaint

Conservation groups filed suit in Montana District Court challenging a Montana Board of Environmental Review (BER) decision attempting to invalidate a selenium water quality standard that was adopted to protect Lake Koocanusa from harmful pollution.

Document April 19, 2023

Tribal Letter to Prime Minister Trudeau and Premier Eby on Mining

Twelve First Nations and Tribes sent a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau and Premier Eby calling on the governments of Canada and British Columbia to act to protect their recognized traditional territories from legacy, operational, and proposed mining in British Columbia.