News

Following up on work that Earthrise Clinical Professor Tom Buchele began three decades ago, Earthrise is again working with forest advocates in southern Illinois to halt excessive logging in the Shawnee National Forest that threatens endangered species and was rammed through the approval process without proper environmental analysis.

Earthrise is supporting a lawsuit to protect sequoia regeneration in California’s Nelder Grove, challenging the Forest Service’s attempt to bypass environmental review for emergency logging. Recent developments paused logging on over 700 acres, but legal questions remain as the case moves forward.

Earthrise Law Center and Northwest Environmental Advocates are challenging the EPA’s approval of flawed water pollution plans for the Deschutes River and Budd Inlet, aiming to protect endangered fish species and restore critical water quality in Puget Sound.

Earthrise Law Center and Northwest Environmental Advocates have filed a new lawsuit to force stronger protections for endangered salmon and steelhead in Oregon’s rivers, challenging federal agencies’ failure to safeguard critical cold water refugia as river temperatures rise.

From old-growth forests to endangered rivers, Earthrise’s East Coast Office is making waves in 2025 with bold legal action to protect ecosystems and strengthen environmental safeguards.

Earthrise wrapped up a successful 2024–25 school year, with students contributing to major environmental victories, including protecting endangered species and restoring river habitats. The clinic also welcomed back co-founder Dan Rohlf as director as it looks ahead to its 30th anniversary.

On behalf of Earthrise and Lewis & Clark, we want to thank you for your interest in—and for many of you, your participation in—the clinic and its mission. Below, we summarize Earthrise’s accomplishments and transitions, and we invite you to support Earthrise as it nears its 30th year of protecting the environment and training the next generation of legal advocates to do the same.

Bob Sallinger, who sadly passed away in October, was for decades one of the most tireless and effective advocates for conservation in both the Portland area and across the state of Oregon.

In 2024, Earthrise attorneys achieved significant milestones in advancing the clinic’s dual mission: safeguarding the environment and equipping the next generation of legal advocates with hands-on experience. As Earthrise approaches its 30th anniversary, we invite you to join us in supporting this essential work in a critical time for environmental protection.

This past Tuesday in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, former Earthrise legal fellow and current Public Justice staff attorney Haley Nicholson delivered her first (of many, we are certain) appellate oral argument on behalf of our client, American Whitewater. 

Earthrise Law Center is now accepting applications from current law students who will have completed their 1L year by April 2025—or anyone who has already completed more than 32 credits of course work—for its summer 2025 clerkship program.