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Lau'ipala (yellow tang fish) swim in a coral reef off the island of Lānaʻi, Hawaii. Reefs are essential to biodiversity, with 25% of all marine species found in, on, or near
them. Healthy reefs also facilitate subsistence and commercial fishing, and they protect people from storm surges and floods, absorbing up to 97% of a shorebound wave’s energy. Around a billion people benefit from reefs. (M Swiet Productions / Getty Images)
feature March 14, 2024

Ocean Biodiversity

Ocean ecosystems are essential to our world, and thankfully, we can still chart a new path forward to protect them.

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.

Snake River's blue waters stand out against green landscape with Teton Mountain Range ascending in the background. Grand Tetons National Park, Teton County, Wyoming. (Edwin Remsberg / Getty Images)
Press Release February 23, 2024

Earthjustice Plaintiffs Join in White House Ceremony Uplifting Historic Columbia Basin Restoration Agreement

The landmark restoration agreement was announced in December and approved by the court earlier this month

Document February 22, 2024

60-Day Notice of Intent to Sue for Violations of Sections 7 and 9 of the Endangered Species Act: Swinomish Indian Tribal Community/Lower Skagit River

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency based on the State Department of Ecology failure to implement a 20 year-old water clean-up plan to address warm stream temperatures in the Lower Skagit River that cause ongoing harm to salmon.

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.

Female panther at the Picayune Strand State Forest in Collier County.
(Tim Donovan / Florida Fish & Wildlife)
Update February 20, 2024

Florida’s Wetlands Win Protections in Court

The ruling halts two massive development projects that would have disturbed the last remaining habitat of the critically endangered Florida panther.

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.

Document February 15, 2024

Sec. 404 Florida ESA Ruling

A federal court rules in favor of environmental groups, determining that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated federal law when they greenlit Florida’s takeover of the Clean Water Act wetlands permitting program.

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

Sun sets on a dammed section of the Snake River in between Lower Granite dam and Lewiston, ID, near Chief Timothy Park. (Chris Jordan-Bloch / Earthjustice)
Press Release February 8, 2024

Oregon’s U.S. District Court Approves Long-Term Pause of Snake River Litigation, Allowing Columbia River Restoration to Move Forward

Judge rejects requests by opponents to disapprove agreement

Document February 8, 2024

Order Granting Snake River Litigation Stay

A federal judge in Oregon approved a long-term pause in Snake River litigation allowing a tribal-state plan and U.S. government commitments to restore the Columbia River Basin to continue.

For more than 100 million years, sea turtles have charted the seven seas. (Irina Kozhemyakina / iStockphoto)
From the Experts February 8, 2024

Animal Magnetism: Sea turtles may follow Earth’s pull to navigate home

We’re fighting to protect the Gulf’s imperiled species as oil and gas corporations run freighters through precious habitat, drill deeper, and blast along the Gulf floor.

The Tongass is America’s largest national forest.
(Brian Logan / U.S. Forest Service)
Press Release January 30, 2024

Alaska Native Tribes, Southeast Alaska Businesses and Forest Advocates Defend Tongass National Forest’s Roadless Rule

Legal intervention seeks to retain forest protections that support Tribes, communities, and sustainable local economies

Unuk River is one of the transboundary watersheds of southeast Alaska. (USGS)
Press Release January 30, 2024

Alaska Native Tribes Press B.C. for Rights Amid Reckless Gold Rush

Tlingit Tribes originating along the Unuk River want a say in risky mining proposals

A Hawaiian petrel chick in its burrow. (Andre Raine / U.S. FWS)
Press Release January 30, 2024

Hawaiian Electric Co. and Maui County Face Lawsuit to Protect Imperiled Hawaiian Seabirds

Conservation groups demand action to stop harm to seabirds from power lines and streetlights

Document January 22, 2024

Law360 Opinion: Farm Bill Gives Congress 2024’s Biggest Enviro Opportunity

The Farm Bill is the most important environmental bill Congress will address this year. Usually largely ignored by all but large-scale farmers and ranchers, agrochemical companies and food manufacturers — and their lawyers — it actually profoundly affects us all.