CHRONOLOGY OF SUCCESS - 2005
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December 2005 - Federal district court in Spokane issues injunction barring Forest
Service from grooming trails for snowmobile access to critical winter habitat for Mountain
Caribou – the most endangered mammal in the lower 48 states – in the Selkirk Mountains.
Read the decision
(pdf 121KB).
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November 2005 - Governor Dirk Kempthorne appoints Senior Staff Attorney Bill Eddie
to serve on the Treasure Valley Air Quality Council, a new council created by statute to
promulgate a regional air quality plan for Boise metropolitan area, which all state and
local agencies must implement.
US District Judge James Parker enters final judgment in Rio Grande Silvery Minnow v.
Keys, ruling that Bureau of Reclamation has broad discretion to manage Middle Rio Grande
Project dams and water releases to preserve river flows for endangered fish, and approving
settlement with Albuquerque to set aside permanent water storage for river flows.
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October 2005 - Settlement reached in Clean Water Act case against Atlanta Gold
Company requiring clean up of mine adit leaking high levels of arsenic to the Middle Fork
Boise River, and setting aside $25,000 for water quality improvement projects.
Read the press release
(pdf 8KB).
Settlement reached with ranchers and BLM to reduce grazing levels, establish management
restrictions, and implement mandatory monitoring of livestock grazing on 28 allotments in
Jarbidge Resource Area, to protect sage grouse and other wildlife.
Read the agreement
(pdf 102KB).
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September 2005 - In response to Advocates' work in a rate case, the Idaho PUC ordered
Boise's water utility to prepare a new comprehensive water conservation plan.
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August 2005 - Federal court holds that BLM violated NEPA and FLPMA in doubling
grazing for Simplot Livestock and other corporate ranchers on Jarbidge Resource Area.
Read the decision
(pdf 85KB).
Another court ruling rejects effort by Idaho politicians and ranchers to prevent the listing
of slickspot peppergrass (a rare Idaho desert flower) under Endangered Species Act.
Read the decision
(pdf 103KB).
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July 2005 - Lawsuit and injunction motion force BLM to withdraw proposed grazing
regulation rollbacks, intended to weaken environmental protections and public involvement in
grazing management.
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June 2005 - Settlement requires Fish and Wildlife Service to finally determine whether
to list Montana fluvial Arctic grayling under the Endangered Species List by April 2007.
Read the settlement
(pdf 44KB).
Clean Water Act settlements net $30,000 for water quality and wetland habitat projects
in the Mid-Snake; and protect Clearwater River near Lewiston.
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May 2005 - Court rules that BLM violated NEPA in approving large flagstone mine within
the Wild and Scenic corridor of the upper Salmon River.
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April 2005 - Two separate federal court injunctions halt timber sales proposed to
log 50 million board feet of old growth forest in Clearwater basin.
Settlement with BLM requires comprehensive analysis of grazing impacts and protections for
streams on 1.5 million acres of public lands in northern Utah.
Read the settlement
(pdf 376KB).
Senior Staff Attorney Bill Eddie receives NW Energy Coalition's Headwaters Award "in
recognition of leadership for a clean and affordable energy future."
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March 2005 - Historic agreement between conservation groups and City of Albuquerque
provides permanent storage for 30,000 acre-feet of water to maintain river flows in the Middle
Rio Grande, while launching new programs for farmers and Albuquerque residents to contribute
further water.
Read the agreement
(pdf 44KB).
Settlement requires U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine whether North American
pygmy rabbit deserves protection under Endangered Species Act.
Read the settlement
(pdf 19KB).
U.S. District Court rules that Air Force violated Freedom of Information Act in refusing to
disclose documents relating to its efforts with ranchers and State of Idaho to avoid listing
of Slickspot peppergrass (a rare desert flower) under the ESA.
Read the decision
(pdf 103KB).
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February 2005 - Setting national precedent, settlement reached with Idaho dairy
industry to establish Clean Air Act regulatory process for new dairies, with
“emissions factors” stipulated on dairy releases of ammonia and other pollutants.
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January 2005 - Staff attorney Sara Eddie helped broker multi-party settlement over
interim Hells Canyon Hydropower Complex project operations, to lessen impacts on salmon and
steelhead.
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