Our Team

Elizabeth Forsyth

Senior Attorney Biodiversity Defense Program

Elizabeth Forsyth, Senior Attorney

Media Inquiries

Perry Wheeler
Public Affairs and Communications Strategist
(202) 792-6211
pwheeler@earthjustice.org

Bar Admissions

CA, WA

Pronouns

she / her

Elizabeth is a Senior Attorney in the Biodiversity Defense Program.

Prior to joining Earthjustice, Elizabeth was a litigation fellow at the Natural Resources Defense Council and clerked for the Honorable Thomas S. Zilly in the Western District of Washington. She has a law degree from Harvard, where she was a Managing Editor of the Harvard Environmental Law Review, and an undergraduate degree in environmental science from Brown. Prior to law school, she worked at the Environmental Protection Agency Region IX on issues related to solid waste and recycling on tribal land.

The Latest from Elizabeth Forsyth

March 11, 2024

In the News: Reuters

Tire makers say lawsuit over fish-killing chemical sidesteps EPA

Quoted: Elizabeth Forsyth

"The chemical's alleged harms to protected fish are exactly the kind of thing the ESA is intended to stop. There is 'no legal reason' why the law wouldn't apply in the case."
February 17, 2024

In the News: The News Tribune

‘Monumental decision.’ Controversial dam on Puyallup River suffers another legal setback

Quoted: Elizabeth Forsyth

“The Endangered Species Act ensures that companies like Electron cannot blatantly harm or kill threatened and endangered species,” she said in a statement. “We are thankful that the Court recognized these impacts and chose to at long last free the Puyallup River and the species that call it home.”
February 16, 2024

In the News: Fox 13 Seattle

Puyallup River free-flowing for first time in 100 years after court ruling against Electron Dam

Quoted: Elizabeth Forsyth

“This monumental decision will allow fish to access pristine habitat above the dam for the first time in over 100 years. The Endangered Species Act is designed to prevent companies like Electron from causing harm or death to threatened and endangered species. We are grateful that the Court has recognized these impacts and decided to free the Puyallup River and the species that live there.”
November 8, 2023

In the News: Associated Press

Commercial fishing groups sue 13 US tire makers over rubber preservative that’s deadly to salmon

Quoted: Elizabeth Forsyth

“This is the biggest environmental disaster that the world doesn’t quite know about yet. It’s causing devastating impacts to threatened and endangered species.” “We’re the nation that figured out how to get lead out of gasoline and still have our cars run. It would shock and surprise me if we cannot make a tire that does not kill up to 100% of coho returning to their native streams.”
November 8, 2023

In the News: The Seattle Times

Fishing groups sue tire-makers over toxic chemical that kills salmon

Quoted: Elizabeth Forsyth

“We’re a nation that put a man on the moon. We figured out how to take lead out of gasoline and still have our cars run. It would astound me that we couldn’t make a tire that doesn’t kill up to 100% of coho salmon returning to their natal streams.”
May 18, 2022

In the News: Tampa Bay Times

Op-Ed: EPA must do its job to protect manatees from deadly pollution

Quoted: Elizabeth Forsyth

An opinion piece
January 31, 2022

In the News: WOSU

Columbus Zoo takes in four manatees from Florida, a species on the brink

Quoted: Elizabeth Forsyth

“EPA is the federal agency that at the end of the day is responsible for ensuring that our nation waters are clean and that species like the Florida manatee are protected and can thrive, and at the end of the day, it's EPA who needs to come in and figure out how to solve the pollution problems that are plaguing the ecosystem here.”
An oil train moves through California's Central Valley.
January 18, 2019

Stopping Dangerous Oil Trains from Coming to California

By Elizabeth Forsyth

Community activists have been largely successful at preventing catastrophic oil train derailment in California.
The Los Angeles skyline.
April 29, 2015

Coalition Calls for EPA to Protect the Health of Southern California Residents

By Elizabeth Forsyth

Groups send urgent request asking EPA to do more to protect the Los Angeles region from air pollution.
Child suffering from asthma.
October 15, 2014

There’s Something Bad in the Air

By Elizabeth Forsyth

A coalition of public health and environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency, asking a federal court to require the agency to protect LA and San Joaquin Valley communities from hazardous levels of air pollution.
Smog over Los Angeles.
October 2, 2014

California: A Terrible Place To Breathe

By Elizabeth Forsyth

The Golden State claimed all five of the top slots for the highest air pollution in the American Lung Association's 2014 State of the Air Report.