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Offshore oil drilling rig in Cook Inlet with distant Alaska Range peaks.
(Paul Souders / Getty Images)
Article July 22, 2024

A Rare Whale Is Safe From Oil and Gas Drilling — for Now

A judge overturned the Biden administration’s reckless lease sale in Cook Inlet, citing threats to the rare beluga whale.

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.

Protestors paddle next to the Mackinac Bridge at the Pipe Out Paddle Up Flotilla Against the Line 5 pipeline in Mackinaw City, Michigan. (Sarah Rice for Earthjustice)
Article July 11, 2024

The Great Lakes Are Under Threat

The Line 5 pipeline has already leaked over 1 million gallons of oil to date and threatens the Great Lakes. Now, the company behind it is proposing a dangerous reroute project.

Aerial view of the Zortman and Landusky Mines in Montana, which led to water contamination on the Fort Belknap reservation. (Associated Press)
Press Release July 11, 2024

Tribes, Conservation Groups Vow Continued Fight Against Irresponsible Mining After “Bad Actor” Retirement

Phillips Baker, Jr., retires from Hecla Mining Company leaving unreclaimed mining disasters behind

document July 11, 2024

Motion to Voluntarily Dismiss Bad Actor Suit

Tribes and conservation groups filed a motion to voluntarily dismiss their claim in their ongoing Bad Actor litigation, but vowed to continue to fight to enforce Montana law to prevent additional irresponsible mining that enriches out-of-state corporate polluters and executives while leaving Montanans with the cost of perpetual pollution.

In the News: Alaska Public Media July 10, 2024

As a mining project moves ahead, Southeast Alaska tribes say Canada denies their human rights

Ramin Pejan, Attorney, International Program: “I think if we interpret Desautel, it’s very clear from the evidence we’ve submitted that we meet the threshold legal test for recognizing SEITC and its tribes as protected under the Canadian Constitution.”

From Mission Hill Overlook, overlooking Bay Mills Indian Community with Spectacle Lake and Lake Superior in the background. (Whitney Gravelle)
Press Release June 28, 2024

Tribes Move to Defend EPA’s Tribal Water Rights Rule

Seven Tribal nations seek to fend off attack by 12 states

Navajo community leader Daniel Tso speaks out against fracking at a meeting that was required under the National Environmental Policy Act. The law gives communities a chance to speak out against projects that will impact them.
(Steven St. John for Earthjustice)
Press Release June 27, 2024

Environmental and Labor Coalition Seeks to Block Baseless Partisan Attacks on Bedrock Environmental Law

Republican-led lawsuit would dismantle revitalized NEPA rules that highlight environmental justice and climate change

Ciarra Greene, member of the Nez Perce Tribe, walks along a section of the Snake River near Asotin, Wash. (Brian Plonka for Earthjustice)
Update June 27, 2024

The Federal Government Is Finally Acknowledging How Columbia River Basin Dams Have Harmed Tribes

A new report highlights the need for concrete action to restore salmon populations and honor treaty obligations.

document June 24, 2024

USFWS Termination Letter: GCEDC

United States Fish and Wildlife Service terminates Genesee County Economic Development Center wastewater pipeline permit on June 24, 2024.

The newly restored flows to Wailuku River in October 2014. (Kapua Sproat / Earthjustice)
Press Release: Victory June 24, 2024

Hawai‘i’s High Court Issues Another Historic Ruling in Maui “Four Waters” Case

State Water Commission failed to restore stream flows after closure of last sugar plantation

Youth plaintiffs gather before the start of the Navahine F. v. the Hawai'i Department of Transportation hearing at the First Circuit Environmental Court in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, on January 26, 2023. Pictured left to right: Ka’ōnohi P.-G., 16, Kawahine‘Ilikea N., 13, Taliya N., 15, Navahine F., 15, Mesina D.-R., 15, Kalā W., 19, Rylee K., 15, and Kawena F., 10. (Elyse Butler for Earthjustice)
Press Release: Victory June 20, 2024

Historic Agreement Reached in Hawaiʻi Youth-Led Constitutional Climate Complaint

Transportation Department commits to bold action to achieve 2045 zero emission goals

Members of the Nez Perce Tribe host a stop on the “Red Road to D.C.” tour at the Snake River in Idaho on Jul. 15, 2021. Members of the Lummi Nation transported a 25-foot totem pole from Washington State to Washington, D.C., stopping at multiple sacred places under threat from resource extraction and industrial development. (Wingspan Media & Te Maia Wiki)
Press Release June 18, 2024

Federal Report Underscores Need to Protect Columbia Basin Salmon for Tribal Justice

Tribal Circumstances Analysis acknowledges historic, ongoing and cumulative injustice to Tribes from the Columbia Basin dams and need for immediate action

A wild chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)
Press Release June 13, 2024

Quinault Nation Calls for Dam Removal on Skookumchuck River to Save Salmon

Fish blocking dam’s purpose will end with closure of the Centralia Coal Plant in 2025

(Sonia Luokkala / SEITC)
Press Release June 12, 2024

Alaska, Washington Tribes condemn BC’s flawed consultation policy

New and diminished engagement with U.S. Tribes violates Provincial law

Yurok guides paddle tourists along the Klamath River in traditional canoes hand crafted from Redwood trees. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Article June 3, 2024

Klamath River Dam Removal Is a Victory for Tribes

After a century of ecological collapse, steelhead and salmon in the Klamath River now have a fighting chance at a full recovery.

(Sonia Luokkala / SEITC)
Article June 3, 2024

Spring on Alaska’s Unuk River Represents a Fight for Our Way of Life

Mining pollution threatens the sovereign rights of the Tsimshian in Southeast Alaska. Assistant Executive Director of the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission Lee Wagner tells what that means for her community.

Mālama Mākua board member Vince Dodge and ‘Ānela Maunakea-Fernandez share a moment before the ceremony of the closing of the Makahiki in Mākua in March, 2024. At left is Kainoa Ailā. (Elyse Butler for Earthjustice)
Article May 31, 2024

A Landmark Victory for Peace in Hawai’i’s Sacred Makua Valley

The U.S. Army is formally ending live-fire training in Mākua Valley – a critical step towards restoring peace to a spiritual refuge ravaged by a century of militarization.