Annual Report 2012 WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR At the Western Environmental Law Center, we massive forces wake each day with a simple question on our arrayed against minds: How can we best safeguard our climate, environmental protect and restore resilient wildlands, and protection in empower communities in the American West? the West. It is this question that we ask and answer as That’s why we work in service of the West’s wide open we remain skies, snow capped mountains, free flowing committed rivers, vast forests, sublime deserts, iconic to defending wildlife, and healthy communities. your rights, as citizens, to use the full power of the law to There is no question that this treasured region level the playing field with these forces and to provides a legacy worth protecting for today s ’ spark opportunities for reform and protection. generation and for those to come. We are proud of the 20-year legacy that we have built. As we celebrate our 2012 successes in this Annual Report, and the broad 20-year legacy Of course, this legacy would not be possible that these successes are a part of, we look without your support, so we thank you from forward to engaging with you to further the bottom of our hearts for everything that strengthen this legacy. Such work difficult as you give. — it may be—is absolutely necessary. As front-line advocates working to protect the While we re proud of our accomplishments, West, the success of our work is contingent on ’ we know that there is much work to be done building networks of people a community — — and that this work is more important than ever that share our vision and values for the West, before. and who see the opportunity inherent in this iconic region to help shape a better world. We thank you for making all of our shared work past, present, and future possible. As we work in partnership to further this — — legacy, we are also conscious that it will not be without controversy and challenge. Indeed, it is hard to imagine that the public interest work we do would not create controversy or face challenge given the Erik Schlenker-Goodrich, Executive Director COVER: QUINAULT RIVER, OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK, WASHINGTON. PHOTO BY BRETT COLE PHOTOGRAPHY. 1 Wildlands The American West is defined by its magnificent natural landscapes of majestic mountains, rushing rivers, lush forests, open skies, and untarnished wilderness. We strive to preserve and restore these unique characteristics of the West, and to protect our national forests and public lands, which provide vital habitat for wildlife, drinking water for communities, smog-free air, recreation, and spiritual renewal for all. “Wallace Stegner wrote that ‘something will go out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed.’ Each day I think about those who came before us, and how to honor their hard work making the West such a special place.” Pete Frost Wildlands Program Director 2 YOUR IMPACT: 2012 HIGHLIGHTS Preserving Forests Safeguarding Water Quality ü VICTORY! Final Punch Knocks Out Disastrous ü VICTORY! Defending New Mexico’s Waters. Forest Plan. Issued in late 2008, the Western We defeated the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Oregon Plan Revision would have quadrupled old- Association’s effort to overturn our recent hard- growth forest logging and substantially reduced fought victory that protects 700 miles of perennial wildlife reserves, which provide critical protections rivers and streams, 29 lakes, and 4,930 acres of for salmon and clean water on 2.6 million acres wetlands in New Mexico. of federal public forests in Oregon. After several court battles, we finally defeated the plan in 2012. ü Preserving Montana’s Flathead River Watershed. Now, we can move forward with sound forest The South Fork of the Flathead River is a management grounded in science, not politics. congressionally protected “wild and scenic” river, and the surrounding forests are home to some of ü VICTORY! Funding Secured to Restore Distressed the most imperiled wildlife—lynx, wolverine, grizzly Forests. We created a unique collaborative project bears, gray wolves, and bull trout. Yet, in what is to help restore the Malheur National Forest in one of the last wild places in the lower 48 states eastern Oregon. In 2012, the project won a $25 with suitable habitat for this vast array of wild million grant from the U.S. Forest Service, which native species, the U.S. Forest Service has planned will create 154 new jobs, restore approximately two large-scale, industrial logging projects in these 272,000 acres of wildlife habitat, and produce old-growth forests. We have filed suit to stop these significant economic benefits for the region’s rural reckless and misguided timber sales. counties. ü Protecting Oregon’s McKenzie River. The U.S. ü Battling Timber Industry’s Lawsuit to Ban Science. Forest Service plans to aggressively log 2,100 We are taking the lead in the fight against a timber acres along the McKenzie River in an area that industry lawsuit that seeks to drastically limit includes endangered species habitat and a the U.S. Forest Service’s ability to use science in potential wilderness area, just an hour upriver from deciding how to manage our public lands. This Eugene. We filed suit after months of passionate preposterous endeavor won the distinction of opposition to the logging plan by the local “most obnoxious lawsuit of the week” by the community. Oregonians cherish the McKenzie Courthouse News Service. We are working to River for its clean drinking water, recreational defend the agency’s use of science in decisions opportunities, and varied wildlife. Due to these that affect your air, water, and natural heritage. outstanding values, forest activities should be exclusively focused on restoration to preserve the integrity of this prized watershed. CASCADE MOUNTAIN RANGE, OREGON. PHOTO BY BRETT COLE PHOTOGRAPHY. 3 Wildlife We are fortunate that the American West remains a place for wildlife as varied as the grizzly, wolverine, spotted owl, and salmon. Historically, humans’ impact on wildlife and its habitat has been dramatic as we’ve struggled to share the landscape. Now, with climate change, it is more important than ever that we provide wildlife with space to roam as they search for new, suitable habitat. Understanding that the future of the West means little without its iconic wildlife, we are dedicated to preserving and restoring native wildlife and functioning natural ecosystems. “If the wild and remote places we seek to protect in Montana are devoid of wild animals like grizzlies, lynx, elk, and wolverine then we aren’t really protecting them at all. We’re just talking about conserving nature while we settle for something less. I’m not willing to settle for something less—not here, not in the Last Best Place.” Matthew Bishop Rocky Mountains Office Director 4 YOUR IMPACT: 2012 HIGHLIGHTS Saving Wildlife & Natural Habitat VICTORY! Rare Wolverines Protected. The ü ü VICTORY! Path of the Pronghorn Protected. We wolverine is the rarest carnivore in the lower 48 reversed a U.S. Forest Service decision allowing states, yet Montana still allows the animal to be livestock operators in Wyoming to put up fencing trapped for recreation. After negotiations failed, that threatened to block the 6,000-year-old we sued and won an injunction closing the 2012- migratory path for pronghorn. Bonus: The deal we 2013 wolverine trapping season. But, the wolverine negotiated also requires the removal of existing is not yet safe from trapping. The state intends to cattle corrals along this route, which is critical to petition the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to re-open the survival of North America’s fastest land animal. the season next year. We will fight to ensure the wolverine trapping season stays closed. ü VICTORY! Ancient Forest Wildlife Saved. Some remnant stands of ancient forest still exist in ü Preserving Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Habitat. Oregon’s heavily logged Coast Range. These 150+ Located in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, year-old trees provide unique habitat for rare Idaho’s Caribou-Targhee National Forest contains species, such as the red tree vole, spotted owl, and highly sensitive forest lands, streams, and fisheries, marbled murrelet. We halted a plan to log an area including the imperiled Yellowstone cutthroat with active red tree vole nests, a protected species trout. The U.S. Forest Service plans to construct and critical food for the threatened spotted owl. an off-road vehicle trail system in this same area that would cut through streams and steep slopes, ü VICTORY! Wildlife Protected from ATV Damage. destroying critical fish and wildlife habitat. We For years, ATVs and dirt bikes were allowed to have filed suit to protect this fragile landscape. drive cross-country in Idaho’s Sawtooth National Forest with few limitations, destroying terrestrial ü VICTORY! Canada Lynx Protected. We halted and aquatic wildlife habitat. Our successful lawsuit a 2,038-acre logging project in designated lynx is helping to stop this abuse and sets the stage to critical habitat on the Lolo National Forest in restore the health of this cherished forest. Montana’s Seeley-Swan Valley. This is one of the most biologically rich areas of Montana and serves ü Protecting Wild Salmon Streams from Mining. as a key wildlife corridor for lynx and grizzlies Every year, the U.S. Forest Service authorizes moving between two major wilderness areas. The suction dredge gold mining operations in Oregon’s U.S. Forest Service approved the project without Rogue River Basin without analyzing impacts on adequately analyzing the cumulative impacts of the vulnerable wild coho salmon population.