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Victories

Politically Motivated Fish Opinion Voided
A judge has tossed out a biological opinion where political considerations prevailed over science.

A Win for Forest Wildlife and the Public
An attempt by the Bush administration to remove wildlife protection and exclude the public from forest-management decisions is rejected.

Protecting the "Heart of California" from Urban Development
The primary zone of the California Delta is truly the heart of the state. This western watershed for the Sierra Nevada mountains is home to a multitude of wildlife and family farms, it also provides drinking water to millions of Californians. A recent proposal to allow 162 units of housing within this zone at Clarksburg was successfully challenged by Earthjustice and a coalition of local residents.

Giant Sequoia National Monument Logging Plan Stopped Pending Further Study
New management plan must be developed

Supreme Court Rejects Attack on Monuments
Earthjustice successfully defends authority of the president to create national monuments in lawsuit brought by anti-environmental groups.

Air Pollution Starts a Movement
California prides itself on being the nation’s breadbasket, the supplier of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and other agricultural products to the country and the world. But the San Joaquin Valley, where many of these crops are grown, has the worst air pollution of any comparable area in the country. Western Press Secretary Brian Smith recounts how a unique coalition came together to fight for cleaner air.

Settlement Reached on Diablo Grande Development
Conservation easement and future habitat protection will protect vanishing species

Desert Tortoise: "Recovery," Not Just "Survival"
A federal judge rules that conservation requires "recovery," not just "survival"

Channel Islands No-Fishing Zone Protected
Earthjustice succesfully defended the largest no-fishing zone on the West Coast.

Forest Service Scolded on Goshawk Plan
Forest Service forced to reconsider its goshawk protection policies.

Logging Companies Must Apply for Permits for Ditches and Culverts
San Francisco Ruling Could Apply Everywhere

Federal Appeals Court Rules California-Based Longline Fishery Violates Endangered Species Act
May result in restrictions on swordfish fishery to protect endangered sea turtles

Diesel Irrigation Pumps in Central Valley to Be Regulated
The Environmental Protection Agency, facing a lawsuit, agrees to regulate diesel pumps in the San Joaquin Valley.

Court Requires Full Study of Mammoth Airport Expansion
Judge Slams FAA for Failure to Conduct Thorough Study; A Second Case Proceeds in State Court

Court Orders Interior to Act on Pacific Fisher Listing
Imperiled species now an important step closer to federal protection

Measure D Upheld by Court of Appeal
Alameda County (California) growth control measure upheld in court--for a second time--against a challenge from developers.

Southern California Fish Gets Protected Habitat
A dwindling population of the Santa Ana sucker will gain critical habitat

Judge Orders Re-Examination Of Moss Landing Power Plant
Environmentalists Say Process Kills Fish Larvae

Development on San Bruno Mountain to Be Reassessed
Fish and Wildlife to study impacts on natural oasis

Plutonium Shipments Stopped
DT-22 canisters determined unsafe for highways

Whipsnake Retains Critical Habitat, For Now
Courts rule in favor of preserving, for now, more than 400,000 acres of San Francisco East Bay grasslands

California's State Fish May Get Protection
State ordered to move on ESA listing.

California Agriculture Must Play by National Rules
EPA agrees to end exemption for Big Ag

Sierra Species Listing: Frog & Toad Victory
Help may be on the way for two Sierra Nevada amphibians.

San Joaquin Valley Air District Suit Settled
Tentative agreement is reached to clean up polluted air in California's San Joaquin Valley.

Clearing the Air in California's Central Valley
Threatened with lawsuits from Earthjustice and clean-air advocates, in October 2001, the EPA redesignated the San Joaquin Valley a "severe" ozone region, a change in status from "serious" that reflects the smog problem as well as the lack of progress in solving it.

Sequoia National Monument is Affirmed
The national monument established by President Clinton to protect the last pockets of unprotected giant sequoias on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada has withstood a challenge.

Protecting Marine Mammals Off California's Coast
In 2001, Earthjustice's Environmental Law Clinic at Stanford compelled the National Marine Fisheries Service to protect endangered sea turtles, whales, and dolphins from the effects of gillnet fisheries off the California Coast.

Clean Air Act Enforcement in the San Francisco Bay Area
In March 2001, the EPA announced that it will require the Bay Area air quality agencies to develop a more aggressive clean air plan to comply with National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone.

Win by Losing
Some lawsuits fail in court but still accomplish their overall objective. One such case rescued the Sacramento River winter-run king salmon. Mike Sherwood, the lead attorney on the case, tells the story.

Postal Arrogance
In the mid-1980s, the Army gave the Postal Service permission to build a large new postoffice on land that was about to become a national park. Buck Parker, executive director of Earthjustice, explains what happened next.

Mineral King: Breaking Down the Courthouse Door
Don Harris, one of Earthjustice's founders, tells the story of how it all started, in a lawsuit that opened up the legal system to environmental organizations and sparked the creation of the organization that would become Earthjustice.