Great gray owl
Victory for great gray owls and forests in Oregon!

We won a recent victory for forests and great gray owls in Oregon. The Griffin Half Moon timber project would have logged more than 900 acres home to perhaps the largest and most well-known population of great gray owls in southwest Oregon. We successfully argued the Bureau of Land Management’s assessment did not consider the effects of logging on this at-risk owl. We are elated to have protected not only the forest, but also this iconic owl.
Opposing the Biden administration’s plans to offer 734,000 acres of public lands to oil and gas

We filed formal legal objections to the Biden administration’s plans to offer 734,000 acres of public lands for oil and gas leasing. Oil and gas in the proposed leases contain up to 246 million tons of climate pollution, as much as 62 coal-fired power plants emit in one year. Public lands should be off limits for leasing because of the government’s failure to assess and avoid harm to land, water, communities, and endangered species from the fossil fuel industry’s climate pollution. In January, the Biden administration paused new oil and gas leasing pending a review of the program, yet since then has approved more than 2,800 new permits to drill. Learn More
Fossil-fueled hydrogen in New Mexico is a climate threat, not a solution

WELC and other New Mexico community, environmental, and justice organizations warned state and federal lawmakers of the risks of diving head-first into fossil-fueled hydrogen projects. Our letter provides guidance on the safeguards that must be enacted before hydrogen projects are considered in the San Juan Basin, and New Mexico more broadly. Hydrogen from fossil gas presents significant climate and health dangers. New Mexico must prioritize climate legislation to light the pathway to benefit all of New Mexico’s workers and families. We cannot drill our way out of the climate emergency. Further, hydrogen is a risky bet of taxpayer resources that would further entrench the power of fossil fuel corporations. Learn More
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Western Environmental Law Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to defending the western U.S.
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Photo credits iStock.com: Owl by /mirceax, Colorado by /AndrewSoundarajan, New Mexico by /Dean_Fikar.