Western Environmental Law Center

Western Environmental Law Center uses the power of the law to foster thriving, resilient Western U.S. lands, waters, wildlife, and communities in the face of a changing climate.

The Western Environmental Law Center works to protect a great variety of imperiled wildlife native to the western U.S., including Arizona. One Arizona species we have fought for decades to protect is the Mexican gray wolf, and we have significantly catalyzed the initial reintroduction effort. We have successfully challenged an overzealous agency policy of lethally removing wolves from the wild following depredations on livestock, and we continue to defend the reintroduction program against industry legal challenges. Our goal is to achieve full recovery of these wolves in the wild. We are working to preserve the victories we accomplished and are partnering with a coalition of Mexican wolf advocates to realize this goal. WELC attorneys have also advocated for the Sonoran Desert tortoise to receive protections under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider a 2015 decision not to protect this species under the ESA.
Importantly, WELC has also fought for public lands protections in Arizona- most recently from target shooting in the Sonoran Desert National Monument. Our efforts on this front directly resulted in the Bureau of Land Management agreeing in January 2024 to propose to close 99% of the Monument to target shooting, whereas previously, 99% was open to target shooting. This decision would result in protection for the many species of flora and fauna-- and the significant cultural spaces-- found on this land.