In early April, Western Watersheds Project (WWP) filed a lawsuit against the USDA and U.S. Forest Service (USFS), seeking documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) relating to public lands grazing in four states.
Environmental groups frequently use the FOIA to obtain documentation for their investigations and legal battles.
In their latest lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the group says long-overdue requests for information about livestock grazing in Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Nevada are proof of the USFS ignoring FOIA deadlines for final decisions and failing to disclose information to the public.
“The result is that the public cannot access basic information about what’s happening on public lands, undermining transparency and oversight of shared resources,” said Megan Backsen, attorney for WWP. “When agencies fail to comply with the law, litigation becomes the only recourse.”
WWP claims that livestock grazing causes ecological damage to public lands, and that FOIA requests are “often the only way to learn about management decisions and monitoring on grazing allotments.”
FOIA requests
The lawsuit said the USFS’ failure to make final determinations regarding five requests is a violation of FOIA, and that the information is necessary for the environmental group to “protect public lands and the wildlife that inhabit them.”
The five requests ask for information about livestock grazing in the following locations:
• Idaho’s Sawtooth National Forest.
• Montana’s Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.
• Montana’s Gallatin National Forest.
• Nevada’s Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
• Oregon’s Umatilla National Forest.
The FOIA requires federal agencies to make record requests available within 20 days, unless an extension is obtained.
“In each of the outstanding FOIA requests included in the lawsuit, the Forest Service has fallen short of this statutory deadline by months if not years,” the group said.
WWP asked the court to declare the USFS in violation of the FOIA and to immediately provide the requested information.
USFS does not comment on pending litigation.
Unionization finalized
In related organization news, WWP recently announced the ratification of their first collective bargaining agreement with the Western Watersheds Workers Union.
In addition to developing an agreement on wages and employment conditions, the 53-page document reiterates the environmental group’s commitment to “protecting western public lands from the destructive effects of livestock grazing” and restoring western watersheds and wildlife.
The union was formed in July 2024, and negotiations began last spring.
“When the staff expressed a desire to unionize, the organization backed them one hundred percent, because a nonprofit conservation group is only as strong as its workers,” said Erik Molvar, WWP executive director.
The collective bargaining agreement includes the adoption of a 32-hour work week, and outlines job descriptions and responsibilities as they relate to livestock grazing and public lands. — Anna Miller Fortozo, WLJ managing editor
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