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Issues
There is nothing quite so final, so absolute, as extinction. Once the last of a species dies, that's it. There's no turning back, no adequate apology, no instant replay to see if the referee missed the call. Extinction is forever. And there are many reasons to preserve species -- medical, ethical, selfish, and moral. A planet that can’t support wildlife will someday not support humans.
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.
Mike tells the story of the salmon recovery
Federal efforts to weaken regulations governing logging on steep, landslide-prone hillsides successfully rebuffed
A judge refused to let timber harvesting occur on Kuiu Island, a Native subsistence area of the Tongass National Forest because the U.S. Forest Service used misleading market information when issuing a permit.
Developers and farm groups fail to convince judge that hatchery-bred salmon are legally identical to wild salmon.
Ruling protects wilderness qualities and rare plants from harmful drilling
An appeals court rules that Shell Offshore, Inc., must stay away from the Beaufort Sea at least through the winter of '07/08.
A judge has tossed out a biological opinion where political considerations prevailed over science.
A judge in Seattle rules that counting hatchery salmon when considering Endangered Species Act listings is illegal.
To justify an increase in logging on steep slopes in the Northwest, the Forest Service ignored advice from leading scientists including some from the Fish and Wildlife Service.
An attempt by irrigators to overturn minimum flows for salmon is rejected.
Palisades Wilderness Study Area protected from ten-fold increase in recreational helicopter skiing
Permits for timber sales in the Rogue River Basin were based on "arbitrary and capricious" statements, and not scientific fact.
The court agrees: too many roads are bad for grizzlies & the Forest Service must do better
Federal judge rules that habitat plan doesn't go far enough
The beautiful, and gravely endangered, Colorado River cutthroat trout has a chance at survival after a judge tells the Bush administration to obey the law.
Pesticide lobby sought to ignore effects of pesticides on endangered species
A federal judge rules that the USDA issued permits illegally for the planting of genetically-engineered crops in Hawai'i
Orcas get recognition by National Marine Fisheries Service, critical habitat established
Legislation seeks to protect America's largest intact temperate rainforest, sustainable economies dependent on it, and even save taxpayers money.
Environmental and disaster review of airport irradiator project necessary, NRC licensing board agrees
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been forced to reconsider its denial of Endangered Species protection for this imperiled species.
Grazing reductions on National Monument defended
A hastily drawn biological opinion, issued under pressure from the former governor's office, cannot survive the light of day.
Salmon battles enter new stage as judge tells agencies to try again
Costa Rican courts issue injunction against construction projects in critical leatherback nesting habitat.
Court ruling rejects US Fish & Wildlife Service's approval of Rock Creek Mine.
Settlement will provide protection and monitoring for turtle nesting sites
Conservation easement and future habitat protection will protect vanishing species
An endangered tropical bird gets a chance to recover when critical habitat is established
A federal judge rules that conservation requires "recovery," not just "survival"
An Earthjustice suit forces NMFS to acknowledge the impact of longline fisheries on the Hawai`i population of false killer whales.
Juvenile salmon on the Columbia and Snake rivers have a greater chance of surviving into adulthood, thanks to action by Earthjustice.
Settlement reached in case challenging a biop allowing development in critical salmon habitat.
Ninth Circuit denies challenge to Forest Service decision that protects endangered chinook salmon and steelhead trout.
Earthjustice teamed with Alaskan Native groups and a political party to succesfully challenge a new Alaska state law that inhibited public access to courts.
Earthjustice succesfully defended the largest no-fishing zone on the West Coast.
Forest Service forced to reconsider its goshawk protection policies.
May result in restrictions on swordfish fishery to protect endangered sea turtles
Swordfishing Threatening Protected Turtles
EPA agrees to block pesticide application adjacent to salmon streams.
Judge Slams FAA for Failure to Conduct Thorough Study; A Second Case Proceeds in State Court
Overfishing in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea must be curtailed
Timber company had tried to intimidate environmental groups
Imperiled species now an important step closer to federal protection
Slow-Speed Zones for Boaters Upheld; Lower Court Ruling Sustained by Appellate Court
A dwindling population of the Santa Ana sucker will gain critical habitat
In 2002, a federal court ordered EPA to start the process of ensuring pesticides will not jeopardize the survival of threatened and endangered salmon.
Federal government is failing to protect salmon from harmful effects of logging under the Northwest Forest Plan.
On October 15, 2002, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to designate more than 30,000 acres of critical habitat to allow for the recovery of endangered birds and bats native to Guam and Rota.
Environmentalists Say Process Kills Fish Larvae
Fish and Wildlife to study impacts on natural oasis
In a major victory for the last remnant of America's wild bison herds, a federal judge in Washington, DC, has banned cattle grazing on national forest land next to Yellowstone National Park.
Forest Service revising plans to regulate ORVs in grizzly habitat.
Courts rule in favor of preserving, for now, more than 400,000 acres of San Francisco East Bay grasslands
San Pedro River granted a chance to recover
Fish and Wildlife Service failed to uphold protections
Logging in the Pacific northwest had just about wiped out the northern spotted owl by 1980. What followed was ten years of political mayhem.Starting after World War II, and accelerating rapidly with the administration of Ronald Reagan, the ancient forests of the Pacific Northwest were being felled at a rate that would seem to make them disappear altogether within decades. Litigation to save the northern spotted owl from extinction slowed the rate of logging dramatically in the nick of time.
Federal Judge Faults Navy Bombing of Pacific Island
In February 2001, a federal judge ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers must ensure that the lower Snake River dams comply with water quality standards.
In April 2001, Earthjustice won a major court order finding that the Bureau of Reclamation had violated the Endangered Species Act by diverting scarce water to irrigators at the expense of threatened coho salmon.
In April 2001, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission agreed to establish extensive slow speed zones in endangered manatee habitat as well as 14 refuges and sanctuaries in Florida coastal waters.
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.
