Elizabeth Forsyth

Elizabeth Forsyth, Senior Attorney

Bar Admissions

CA, WA

Pronouns

she / her

Elizabeth Forsyth

Perry Wheeler
Public Affairs and Communications Strategist
pwheeler@earthjustice.org

Elizabeth Forsyth is a senior attorney in Earthjustice’s 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.

Expert Posts & Articles

An oil train moves through California's Central Valley.
January 18, 2019

Stopping Dangerous Oil Trains from Coming to California

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

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

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

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.

Perry Wheeler
Public Affairs and Communications Strategist
pwheeler@earthjustice.org

Bar Admissions

CA, WA

Pronouns

she / her

Quoted in the News

March 11, 2024

Reuters

Tire makers say lawsuit over fish-killing chemical sidesteps EPA

“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

The News Tribune

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

“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

Fox 13 Seattle

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

“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

Associated Press

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

“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

The Seattle Times

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

“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.”

Latest Press Statements

Illustration of a coporate heist in the desert.
July 28, 2026

Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration’s Latest Attempt to Drain Mojave Desert

California’s Cadiz Pipeline would deplete groundwater, harm desert wildlife
A single black and orange monarch butterfly on yellow goldenrod plants.
July 17, 2026

With Two New Rulemakings, Trump Administration Attempts to Further Weaken Endangered Species Act

Rules eliminate protections for threatened wildlife and prioritize “economic interests” over critical habitat 
The Puyallup River, with Mount Rainier in the background.
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
A California spotted owl in the Stanislaus National Forest.
February 22, 2023

California Spotted Owl to Get Endangered Species Act Protections After 23 Years

Agreement leads federal agency to implement some safeguards