Endangered Species

  • Protecting and restoring wildlife and habitat

    Massive extinction episodes have taken place on Earth five times in the geologic past. Most scientists believe that the planet is now in the midst of a sixth extinction episode – only this time a single species is responsible for the demise of countless other life forms.

    Lawmakers in the United States have enacted a variety of protections for biodiversity, but resource shortages and lack of political will sometimes prevent government agencies from fully enforcing these laws – or sometimes complying with the law themselves. Earthrise Law Center plays a leadership role in using the law to conserve and restore endangered species and their habitat in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

    Earthrise works with clients around the country to both protect imperiled species from specific threats and establish strong legal precedents that will benefit a wide variety of endangered species. Among other victories, Earthrise cases have been instrumental in conserving salmon and steelhead in the Columbia Basin, protecting grizzly bear habitat in Montana, and securing legal protections for bald eagles in the Arizona desert. Earthrise’s wins in court have also helped to shape the law. For example, Earthrise convinced a court to overturn agency regulations that narrowly interpreted the Endangered Species Act’s protections for “critical habitat,” thereby bolstering efforts to protect ecosystems across the country.

endangered-species-issues-feature, endangered-species-issues

Earthrise scores a win for condors in the Ninth Circuit!

Ruling in favor of conservation groups, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today allowed a lawsuit to move forward challenging the use of lead ammunition in Arizona’s Kaibab National Forest.
accomplishments, endangered-species-issues-feature, endangered-species-issues

Cormorants Disappear Amid Corps’ Culling Program

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. 

accomplishments, climate-issues-feature, climate-issues, endangered-species-issues, faculty

Bloomberg Law talks with Professor Dan Rohlf about climate change and threatened animals

Professor Dan Rohlf discusses a recent appeals court decision which allows animals to be considered “threatened” based on climate change models. He speaks with Bloomberg Law hosts June Grasso and Michael Best on Bloomberg Radio’s “Bloomberg Law.”
accomplishments, earthrise-summer, education-issues, education, endangered-species-issues

Summer Extern Chillemi Joins Attorney Rohlf at the Table for Oral Argument on Cormorant Culling on the Columbia River

Earthrise Attorney and Professor Dan Rohlf and Summer Extern Tessa Chillemi gave oral argument Wednesday in front of Judge Simon of the Federal District Court of Oregon.
accomplishments, earthrise-summer, education-issues, education, endangered-species-issues

For Fly-Fisher Mark Tuai, Environmentalism and Sport Inextricably Intertwined

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

accomplishments, endangered-species-issues, water-issues

FEMA Gets Legal Wake Up Call, Must Consider Salmon Habitat: Interview with Attorney Dan Rohlf

Dan Rohlf, Professor of Law and a Founding Member of Earthrise Law Center at Lewis & Clark Law School, discusses the changes FEMA must make to its flood insurance program to protect riparian areas crucial for wildlife – especially salmon.
accomplishments, endangered-species-issues, law, press

Earthrise Victory as Court Throws out Salmon Biological Opinion, Again

Yesterday, Earthrise and salmon won a hard fought battle when Judge Michael Simon rules the Salmon Biological Opinion utilized to operate the hydropower system on the Columbia and Snake Rivers was illegal.
accomplishments, endangered-species-issues

Earthrise Secures Important Victory for the Critically Imperiled California Condor

Earthrise Secures Important Victory for the Critically Imperiled California Condor 
In January, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that our lawsuit could move forward challenging the use of lead hunting ammunition in Arizona’s Kaibab National Forest. 
endangered-species-issues, environment, law, newsletter, water-issues

Rising Issues #6 Winter 2014

The winter edition of Rising Issues: CRC, VGP, Dan Mensher, and more!
education-issues, education, endangered-species-issues, environment, law, newsletter, public-lands-issues, water-issues

Rising Issues #5 Fall 2013

10/30/13 - Federal laws are for the birds…and the national rivers! Read about our work protecting national treasures in our latest newsletter.
climate-issues, endangered-species-issues, environment, law, water-issues

CRC Contradictions in the News

10/17/13 - Earthrise Managing Attorney Tom Buchele is quoted in a Willamette Week article about the latest on the proposed Columbia River Crossing.
civic engagement, community engagement, education-issues, endangered-species-issues, environment, law, water-issues

Earthrise Clients Win SLAPP Suit in Federal Court

7/24/13 - In an opinion released Monday, a federal judge in Portland ruled in favor of the defendants in a case that had all the earmarks of a classic SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation).
endangered-species-issues, environment, law

BBC News on Lead Bullet Threats to California Condors

4/17/13 - Today BBC News covered the threat of lead bullets to California Condors. Earthrise represents several environmental groups in the RCRA case challenging the use of lead bullets on Forest Service lands.
education-issues, endangered-species-issues, newsletter, public-lands-issues, water-issues

Rising Issues #2 Winter 2013

2/14/13 - Read our winter newsletter, highlighting Earthrise students’ roles in Supreme Court briefing and in an herbicide case in eastern Oregon, plus more.
education-issues, endangered-species-issues, environment, law, newsletter, public-lands-issues, water-issues

Rising Issues #1 Fall 2012

11/2/12 - Read our latest newsletter, with updates on our work in Arizona, New Jersey, and more.