Earthrise Law Center is re-opening its summer clerkship application process and is now accepting applications from current 1Ls and 2Ls for its summer 2024 clerkship program.

Earthrise’s team filed its Motion for Summary Judgment on behalf of its client, the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance (BRWA) to halt the Robert’s Gap Project, a large logging project, in the Ozark-St. Francis National Forests of Arkansas.

Major General William Anders sat down with NASA’s Chief Scientist and Senior Climate Adviser to discuss his famous Earthrise photo, the basis of our name and an image that we continue to take inspiration and motivation from.

Our senior legal fellow, Haley Nicholson ’22, made her first live court appearance in federal district court in Maine to argue for more transparency in government decision-making. She presented oral argument in a case in which Earthrise represents several public interest environmental organizations opposing an electrical transmission line cutting across fragile and ecologically important habitat in western Maine.

Drew Baloga, who took the Earthrise clinic last year and then worked with us as a summer clerk, argued in front of the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco last week. Drew presented oral argument on behalf of our clients Earth Island Institute and the Center for Biological Diversity in support of their challenge to the Three Creeks logging Project in the Inyo National Forest.

Earthrise is gearing up to have a great and productive summer with the help of our 2023 clerks Zach Nacev, Jamie Johnson, Julia Taylor, Evelyn Mailander, and Drew Baloga. 

Earthrise’s legal challenge to the Long Term Management Plan for the Glen Canyon Dam is now before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

We are hiring for a 2024 Founder’s Legacy legal fellow. Earthrise is looking for a smart, enthusiastic, hard-working person with a positive attitude and a desire to have a career in the public interest environmental legal field.

At the end of November 2022, Earthrise had a big win when we obtained a preliminary injunction in our lawsuit on behalf of Sea Shepherd New Zealand and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society seeking to protect the Māui dolphin, a critically endangered dolphin found only in waters around New Zealand’s North Island. 

In February, Earthrise Legal Fellow, Alex Houston traveled to San Francisco for oral argument before the Ninth Circuit in the third appeal of our long-running RCRA case against the Forest Service.

Earthrise Clinical Professor Tom Buchele, representing the Earth Island Institute, will argue before the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco on May 9th, urging them to impose a preliminary injunction on the National Park Service’s decision to log extensively within Yosemite National Park as part of its misguided effort to reduce the severity of future wildfires by logging large trees. 

Earthrise recently assisted Environment America, Environment Oregon, and Environment California in drafting and submitting comments to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asking the Service to make a negative determination on a petition to delist the Southern sea otter from the Endangered Species Act.

Earth Day 2023’s theme is “Invest in Our Planet.” At Earthrise, we are investing our time and energy in using legal tools to protect the environment and in training the next generation of environmental advocates. Here are some reflections from Professor Dan Rohlf, Earthrise Co-Founder, as we celebrate Earth Day this year. 

On March 30th Jesse Buss (2012 Earthrise alum) presented oral argument before the Ninth Circuit in Seattle, urging the court to leave in place an injunction preventing the Forest Service from logging hundreds of old-growth firs surrounding the popular Walton Lake area in Oregon’s Ochoco National Forest. Jesse’s co-counsel Earthrise Clinical Professor Tom Buchele and Bridgett Chevallier (2020 Earthrise alum and former legal fellow) were at counsel’s table for the argument.

On Friday, April 14th, 2023, Earthrise hosted our annual end of the school year celebration for the 2022-2023 clinic class.

Lewis & Clark Law School’s Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law Program, in collaboration with Environmental Law, held its 2023 symposium: Protecting Biodiversity: Five decades of progress but an uncertain future on April 7th. 

Today in our clinic Professor Dan Rohlf, who is Of Counsel for Earthrise, visited to present about the recent issue Earthrise has been working on relating to sea otters. 

Nate Hausman, Kathryn Roberts, Mike Sargetakis, and Emma Bruden were panelists for our career panel during last week’s clinic class.

Congratulations to current Earthrise students Casey Bage (3L) and Glenda Valdez (3L) for organizing an excellent event last week, “Build First, Ask Questions Later.” 

Earthrise attended the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference that took place on Thursday, March 2, 2023, to Sunday, March 5, 2023 in Eugene, OR. It was a great weekend where we learned about current issues in the field. We also had the opportunity to reconnect with colleagues after a three year pause of in-person PIELC events. 

To donate to Lewis and Clark’s Day of Giving ’23 click here.

Last Thursday, Earthrise legal fellow Alex Houston appeared before the Ninth Circuit to argue the third appeal in our long-running case on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, and Grand Canyon Wildlands Council (Wild Arizona) to protect California condors and other wildlife from poisoning due to consumption of spent lead ammunition disposed of on the Kaibab National Forest in Arizona. Alex did a great job – now, we wait!

Earthrise achieves a significant victory for the critically endangered Māui Dolphin.

A Ninth Circuit Court panel granted Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project’s (BMBP) request to keep the injunction against logging in place for the Walton Lake sale on the Ochoco National Forest

The EPA is in the process of re-establishing water quality standards for Washington state. 

Māui dolphins are one of the rarest and smallest dolphins in the world. They are found only on the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island.

One of our summer 2022 law clerks discusses their experience with Earthrise this last summer. 

Lydia L. Dexter was a 2022 summer Tomorrow’s Advocates Clerk and recounts her experience last summer. 

The summer 2023 Tomorrow’s Advocates clerkships application is now open and closes on Monday, November 14th, 2022 at 11:59 pm.

The Tomorrow’s Advocates program enables select Lewis & Clark law students to clerk for 10 weeks during the summer months as paid externs or paid interns.

The Green Energy Institute (GEI) and Earthjustice celebrate victory while representing climate, environmental justice, and community-led social justice organizations in proceeding by Oregon regulators reviewing NW Natural’s request to raise gas bills.

Lia Comerford, an Earthrise staff attorney, was recently mentioned in a news story on litigation relating to Washington updating their water quality criteria.

Haley Nicholson ’22 argued for increased environmental action as a certified law student.

Legal experts and scholars discuss the impact–good and bad–of the CWA over five decades.

A federal judge halted a 78-acre (31.5-hectare) commercial timber harvest in central Oregon at the request of Earthrise and on behalf of the Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project.

Alum argues in the Court of International Trade to protect 57 remaining Māui dolphins.

Susan Jane Brown ’00 was honored by the OSB ENR section on February 11, 2021.

Earthrise Law Center filed an eighth supplemental complaint with the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon over the federal hydropower systems in the Columbia and Snake Rivers and the agencies’ failure to comply with the ESA and NEPA.

All applications must be received on or before March 2^nd at 5 pm by Tom Buchele.

Earthrise Files Suit to Bring the Management of the West’s Most Infamous Dam in Line with the New Climate Reality

Opposition from Cascade Forest Conservancy among other conservation and recreation groups, objection submitted.

Professor and Earthrise attorney, Dan Rohlf, has been fighting against a controversial federal cormorant culling program under which federal agents could eventually kill as many as 11,000 adult double-crested cormorants and destroy even more nests in the estuary of the Columbia River as part of a plan to save native salmon. This summer thousands of cormorants have left the nesting grounds along the Columbia River. 

Professor Craig Johnston has stepped down as director of Earthrise law center, passing on the role to attorneys Allison LaPlante and Tom Buchele. As one of the original founders of the clinic, Craig’s leadership has been a great benefit to Lewis & Clark law school, the students, and the planet.

Yesterday, Earthrise and its co-counsel, on behalf of Northwest Environmental Advocates (NWEA), won a challenge against Oregon’s illegal water temperature standards, which change goals from cold temperatures to hot—and sometimes even lethal for salmon and other imperiled cold-water species. 

Earthrise attorney Kevin Cassidy was awarded the Cape Cod Bay Life Preserver Award for 2016 by the Jones River Watershed Association (JRWA). JRWA Executive Director Pine duBois said Cassidy was being recognized for his work on the Pilgrim Nuclear Plant trial in August 2016, which challenged a permit from the Town of Plymouth, MA given to Entergy Corporation authorizing the long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel at the Pilgrim plant located on the shores of Cape Cod Bay. 

It’s time to apply to be a part of the Earthrise Clinic for the 2017-18 School Year! Deadline is March 24th. 

After obtaining a preliminary injunction to halt logging in the Ochoco National Forest that was scheduled to begin on October 17th, Earthrise is pleased to announce the Forest Service has withdrawn it decision authorizing the logging of hundreds of large and old growth Douglas-fir and Grand fir in the Walton Lake area of the Ochoco. This area is one of the most popular recreation sites in the Ochoco as well as a location of magnificent old growth and significant wildlife habitat. 

Earthrise concluded a six-day trial in Massachusetts Land Court in August, on the issue of whether a new long-term nuclear waste storage facility at the Pilgrim Nuclear Plant in Plymouth, Massachusetts required special authorization from the Plymouth Zoning Board.

On Monday Earthrise attorney Tom Buchele filed a lawsuit to challenge proposed heavy logging at Walton Lake, a popular area in eastern Oregon.

“A recent flurry of suits by West Coast cities—seeking to hold Monsanto liable for allegedly polluting public waterways with PCBs it made decades ago—represents an intersection of hazardous waste and product liability law that could have a far-reaching impact on industrial product manufacturers, attorneys and scholars tell Bloomberg BNA.” Professor Craig Johnston spoke to Bloomberg BNA on what this could mean for hazardous waste law. 

Mark Tuai gains real world experience being around a team of extraordinary attorneys dedicated to improving the environment.

On May 29th, Federal District Court Magistrate Judge Clarke issued an opinion, finding that, as a matter of law, a Jackson County Ordinance that prohibits the growing of genetically modified (“GE”) crops in that County was legal under Oregon law.