News

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. 

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.