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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.

A wolverine caught on a camera trap while working with researchers on a rare carnivore survey in Western Montana. Made under a special use permit with the Flathead and Lolo National Forests.
Article: Victory November 29, 2023

Wolverines Gain Legal Protections to Ward off Extinction

The announcement comes after decades of litigation and public calls to save wolverines from development and climate change.

A wild wolverine kit playing on the snow outside of a rendezvous site in the Northern Rockies (Steven Gnam)
Press Release: Victory November 29, 2023

Wolverine Receives Much-Needed Endangered Species Act Protections

Fish and Wildlife Service to list species as threatened following decades of litigation

Sockeye salmon make their way back up a river in the Pacific Northwest to spawn. (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Photo)
Update November 8, 2023

We’re Going to Court to Protect Salmon from a Highly Toxic Chemical

U.S. fishing groups are suing tire manufactures over 6PPD, a chemical in tires, which interacts with ground-level ozone to create the highly toxic 6PPD-q.

During September, sockeye and coho salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka and kisuch) intermingle during their spawning migration in an Alaskan stream. (Thomas Kline / Design Pics)
Press Release November 8, 2023

U.S. Fishing Groups Sue Tire Manufacturers Over 6PPD Impacts on Salmon, Steelhead

6PPD interacts with ozone to create the highly toxic 6PPD-q

document November 8, 2023

6PPD ESA Complaint

The Institute for Fisheries Resources (IFR) and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA) filed suit against U.S. tire manufacturers over the use of the chemical 6PPD in rubber tires because of its devastating impacts on Endangered Species Act (ESA)-protected salmon and steelhead.

Coho salmon returning from its years at sea to spawn, seen near the Suquamish Tribe's Grovers Creek Hatchery. 
(K. King / USFWS)
Press Release: Victory November 2, 2023

EPA Grants Tribal Nations’ Petition to Restrict 6PPD in Tires

EPA agrees with petitioners that federal regulation is needed to address environmental risks

document November 2, 2023

EPA 6PPD Petition Decision

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted a petition submitted by the Yurok, Port Gamble S’Klallam, and Puyallup Tribes, which asked EPA to develop regulations that prohibit the use of the chemical 6PPD in tires due to the lethal effects of its use for salmon, steelhead trout, and other wildlife.