Victory

Monday January 9, U.S. District Chief Magistrate Judge Williams determined Atlanta
Gold Corporation is illegally polluting Montezuma Creek, a tributary of the
Boise River near Atlanta, Idaho, with toxic levels of arsenic and iron,
constituting over 1,400 violations of the Clean Water Act.

The Idaho Conservation League and Northwest Environmental Defense Center,
represented by Advocates for the West, had brought a Clean Water Act suit
against the company for illegal discharges of arsenic and iron.

Advocates for the West has won a groundbreaking victory in one of the largest environmental law cases ever filed, the BLM RMP case. This case challenges 18 Resource Management Plans that govern BLM’s management of over 25 million acres of public land around the West. The Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho and the Pinedale Field Office in western Wyoming were selected as “test cases” for the first round of briefing.   

Files: 

Judge Winmill's Order Granting WWP's Motion for Summary Judgment

Sage Grouse Prevail - A federal judge has ordered BLM to close to livestock grazing 17 allotments in the Jarbidge Field Office in southwestern Idaho, and has given Simplot Livestock and other permittees about two weeks to remove all livestock from the closed areas.  Animating the court's decision was the continuing collapse of sage-grouse populations and habitat.  The Court has ordered an evidentiary hearing on Simplot's motion to lift the injunction, and thus this 7 year-old case is just getting started.  Stay tuned.

Files: 

Order denying stay.pdf

WWP Press Release

In a decision late yesterday, Chief Judge B. Lynn Winmill of the Federal District Court held the Bureau of Land Management, Simplot and other corporate ranchers to the terms of an earlier agreement and enjoined livestock grazing on 17 livestock grazing allotments on the Jarbidge public lands of southern Idaho.

Read the press release below for more information.

Files: 

Press Release March 1, 2011

Judge Winmill's Order March 1, 2011

Advocates for the West has won another court victory protecting public lands in the Pahsimeroi Valley.

Files: 

Opinion and Order (January 2011)

We've received a victory in our challenge of a BLM grazing plan for the Burnt Creek allotment, located within the Pahsimeroi Valley's Burnt Creek Wilderness Study Area!  This stunning area is located in the shadow of Borah Peak in the rugged Lost River Range.

On behalf of Western Watersheds Project, Advocates challenged a BLM environmental analysis and decision to reissue a 10-year grazing permit on this allotment, arguing that BLM had failed to analyze impacts of the proposed grazing and fencing on the wilderness values of the Wilderness Study Area. 

Files: 

Burnt Creek opinion

Great news!  We've received a preliminary win on one of our most bizarre cases - our challenge to the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM's) cancellation of a grazing permit for reasons related to failing to graze enough. 

In a landmark decision, Administrative Law Judge Harvey C. Sweitzer has granted our  motion to stop the construction of new fences on Wyoming's Green Mountain Common allotment.  As one of the largest unfenced areas in the lower 48 states, the Green Mountain Common provides unique open space and crucial habitat for wildlife, including the imperiled greater sage-grouse. 

Files: 

Order Granting Petition for Stay.pdf

In another precedent setting decision, the Idaho federal court ruled that BLM violated its grazing regulations by authorizing livestock grazing on the 70,000-acre Nickel Creek allotment in the Owyhee Plateau of southwestern Idaho without imposing mandatory terms to protect streams and fish and wildlife habitat.  This ruling followed a 4-week trial in which an Administrative Law Judge found that BLM failed to follow basic scientific principles in its grazing management on the Nickel Creek allotment, despite extensive degradation caused by too many cows on the allotment. <

Files: 

Nickel Creek Decision

On December 16, 2009 Special Master Booth of the Snake River Basin Adjudication ruled that the Atlanta Gold mining company could not rely on technological difficulties or historic gold prices to excuse its forfeiture of three water rights in the headwaters of the Boise River. The mining company hoped to reclaim the water rights in order to recommence open pit and underground mining using diesel fuel, propane, and other hazardous chemicals. In view of Special Master Booth’s ruling, Atlanta Gold has withdrawn its claim to the water rights.

Files: 

Special Master Booth Ruling