Current work in wildlife, rivers, public lands, and climate

Press Releases

Nov 8, 2019

Ruling Stops Colorado Coal Mine Expansion Threatening Climate, National Forest

Judge Holds Trump Administration Illegally Ignored Methane Limits, Stream Contamination

Climate + Energy

#KeepItInTheGround

Nov 6, 2019

Court order forces Trump administration to pull sage-grouse habitat from Nevada oil auction

Rare birds spared from development

Climate + Energy, Public Lands, Wildlife

#KeepItInTheGround, #SafeguardTheSagebrushSea, #WildlandsForWildlife

Nov 5, 2019

WildEarth Guardians Fighting for Iconic Joshua Trees in Court

Trump Administration Ignored Science, Climate Change Impacts when Refusing Protections

Climate + Energy, Public Lands, Wildlife

#KeepItInTheGround, #WildlandsForWildlife

Nov 4, 2019

TrapFree New Mexico releases map cataloguing trapping incidents in New Mexico

Map shows that trapping incidents involving companion animals and endangered species occur across the state

Wildlife

#DefendCarnivores, #EndTheWarOnWildlife, #TrapFreeNM

Oct 31, 2019

Homeland Security Issues New Round of Waivers for Trump’s Border Wall

Sensitive desert lands and communities along Rio Grande threatened by reckless policies

Rivers

#LivingRio, #ProtectWhatYouLove, #RethinkRivers

Oct 31, 2019

Federal plan endangers recovery for dwindling Gunnison sage-grouse in Colorado, Utah

Recovery plan is inadequate to conserve rare birds

Wildlife

#WildlandsForWildlife

Oct 30, 2019

Northern Spotted Owl among 10 Species Imperiled by Pesticides, According to New Report

More than 70% of Owls Test Positive for Rat Poisons from Ingested Prey

Wildlife

#EndTheWarOnWildlife

Oct 30, 2019

Coalition Commends U.S. House for Passing First-Step Chaco Protection Bill

Legislation Would Up Protections for Greater Chaco, but Region Remains Threatened by Fracking

Climate + Energy

#AJustTransition, #GreaterChaco

Oct 30, 2019

Billboards Rally Public to Speak Out Against Plans to Dump Fracking Waste Into New Mexico’s Waters

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham Urged to Implement Real Climate Solutions, Water Conservation Plans

Climate + Energy

#AJustTransition, #KeepItInTheGround

Oct 28, 2019

Grizzly advocates prepare to sue over trains killing bears

In 2019 alone, trains have killed at least eight grizzlies in Montana

Wildlife

#EndangeredSpeciesAct

Contact

[email protected]
978-501-7045

Nadine Nadow

Policy Advocate

Nadine joined WildEarth Guardians in 2019 as the Colorado Policy Advocate for the Energy and Wildlife Programs. She has dedicated her career to promoting environmental law and policy initiatives and works passionately to protect wild places. She spent the last few years between the Green Mountains of Vermont and the Rocky Mountains of Montana. She received her J.D. from Vermont Law School and her B.A. from University of Vermont. Nadine loves spending time with her family, husband and adventure dog, playing in the mountains, deserts, and in the beautiful landscapes between.

Contact

[email protected]

Nadine Nadow

Colorado Policy Advocate

Contact

[email protected]
503-780-8281

Jennifer Schwartz, J.D.

Staff Attorney

Jennifer Schwartz joined WildEarth Guardians in 2019 as a Staff Attorney with a focus on protecting the American West's wondrous, yet imperiled native species. A long-standing biodiversity advocate and lover of wild places, Jennifer has worked for and with numerous environmental groups and conservation organizations for over two decades. Though her social justice and civil litigation interests are varied, she has spent most of her career as a litigator defending the Pacific Northwest’s grasslands, forests, river canyons, and sagebrush steppe ecosystems from destructive logging, livestock grazing, road-building, and motorized recreational abuse.
Jennifer holds a J.D. from Lewis & Clark law school and a B.A. in Political Theory from U.C. Santa Cruz. After becoming a mother in 2012, Jennifer started her own solo practice representing non-profits and neighborhood groups in their quests to protect Oregon's invaluable natural resources.
Having grown up the daughter of a major airline employee, Jennifer had the privilege of traveling the world at a young age. She continues to enjoy visiting beautiful places around the globe, learning about different cultures, customs, and cuisine, and teaching her young son to be a respectful inhabitant of planet Earth.

Contact

[email protected]
530-370-6955

Reid Whittlesey

Restoration Director

Reid Whittlesey grew up in rural Northern California in a Blue Oak woodland near a perennial stream called Dry Creek. As a young adult, he began noticing the negative impacts of invasive species on the health of the riparian ecosystem and began several studies on his family’s property analyzing the effects of different treatments on greater ecosystem health. In his early twenties, after leaving UC Berkeley to see first-hand the landscapes and natural processes he was learning about in class, he discovered that restoration was a career. At that moment he became certain it was the career he wanted to pursue. Reid has worked in the restoration ecology field since 2009 on over 30 riparian and upland restoration projects in the Southwest and California. He has extensive experience in managing large-scale riparian restoration projects specializing in native vegetation recovery and post-fire restoration. He is also a qualified heavy equipment operator with over 1,000 operating hours.
Reid holds a B.S. in Environmental Science and Ecological Restoration from Humboldt State University and has cumulatively spent years of his life studying in the Ansel Adams and David Brower School of Wilderness Appreciation also known as the High Sierra. Outside of restoration, his passions include rock climbing, trail running and skiing with his (very) charismatic dog Bear, and appreciating the wildness that remains in the west.

2,000-acre Colorado coal mine expansion blocked, Sunset Roadless Area saved!

Photo Credit: WildEarth Guardians

WildEarth Guardians protects and restores the wildlife, wild places, wild rivers, and health of the American West.

A FORCE FOR NATURE

We believe in nature’s right to exist—and thrive. Driven by passion, we’ve tackled some of the West’s most difficult and pressing conservation challenges over the past three decades. Our work is organized around four programs—Wildlife, Public Lands, Rivers and Climate +Energy—bringing people, science, and the law together in defense of the American West.

End the Taxpayer-Funded War on Wildlife

For far too long our federal government has used our hard-earned tax dollars to slaughter native wildlife on our public lands. Wildlife Services also endangers people and companion animals, exposing them to poisons, traps and snares. Tell your representatives this all-out war on wildlife and public safety must stop today. Help us End the War on Wildlife.

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Recent Stories

The Joshua Tree is Us

John Horning Nov 11, 2019

Without dramatic action to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, Joshua trees may not live into the next century.

Opinion Wildlife Climate + Energy Featured

2,000-acre coal mine expansion blocked!

Nov 8, 2019

greater sage grouse bob wick blm wildearth guardians

Nevada sage grouse habitat spared from oil auction

Nov 6, 2019

Opening Salvo Filed in Suit Over Oil and Gas Pipeline Inspections

Oct 29, 2019

Guardians Demands Burlington Northern Railway “Brakes” to Protect Grizzly Bears

Oct 28, 2019

New Mexico Governor’s Solution to Climate Crisis? Let Them Drink Frackwater

Oct 12, 2019

The Joshua Tree is Us

Nov 11, 2019

US Capitol Christmas Tree WildEarth Guardians John Brighenti

Logging injunction for spotted owl won’t steal national Christmas tree

Oct 21, 2019

Guardians Take Action

Oct 9, 2019

Permian Basin oil gasdevelopment WildEarth Guardians SkyTruth

Embrace Discomfort to Ally with Youth Climate Strikers

Sep 22, 2019

santa fe fireshed sarah hyden wildearth guardians

The Santa Fe Conservation Alternative, for a truly resilient forest

Jun 15, 2019

Beckoning the Beavers

Oct 30, 2019

Grizzly Guardian

Aug 22, 2018

Postcard from the Gila

Jul 23, 2018

whitewater canyon gila wilderness tom blackwell flickr wildearth guardians

Equilibrium

Jul 16, 2018

guardians staff and storm washington dc wildearth guardians

Guardians goes to Washington

Jul 4, 2018

overgrazing matt lavin flickr wildearth guardians

Why legislation authorizing permanent retirement of livestock grazing permits matters

Jul 23, 2018

rio grande adriel heisey WildEarth Guardians

Why the Rio Grande’s flows matter

Jan 1, 2018

bald eagle endangered species act mick thompson flickr WildEarth Guardians

Why the Endangered Species Act matters

Jan 1, 2018

Buy Tickets for Guardians Events!

Celebrate our 30th anniversary with us at an event this year.

Purchase Event Tickets

Photo Credit: WildEarth Guardians

WildEarth Guardians Press

Ruling Stops Colorado Coal Mine Expansion Threatening Climate, National Forest

Nov 8, 2019

DENVER — A federal judg…

Sustainable Missoula: Montana’s public lands are critical for climate progress

Missoula Current | Jul 19, 2019

Montana’s public lands are priceless. They’re an economic lifeblood, a source of clean water and air, home to thriving fish and wildlife, and a cornerstone of the state’s outdoor heritage. Unfortunately, the state’s public lands are under siege by a fossil fuel industry-driven “energy dominance” agenda.

BLM withdraws acreage from Nevada O&G lease sale

Kallanish Energy | Nov 8, 2019

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has pulled 332,247 acres from the Nov. 12 oil and natural gas lease sale in Nevada due to a court order blocking Trump administration plans to gut protections for the greater sage-grouse, Kallanish Energy reports.

Contact

[email protected]
505-988-9126

Eleni Ho-On

Executive Administrative Assistant

Eleni Ho-On hails from the suburbs of Chicago and thanks her lucky stars that she was able to escape city life by spending summers at her grandmother’s home on the lake in northern Michigan. Searching for Petoskey stones, swimming through the clear waters of the lake, rescuing turtles and frogs from the road and getting lost in the stars of the dark night sky fueled her appreciation and respect for nature.

Her past working experiences have included a farm to table inspired bakery, Italian vineyards and the wine making process and most recently some time at the Chicago Patagonia store in Lincoln Park where she first learned of WildEarth Guardians. Within the last few years, Eleni had spent summers in Santa Fe with her partner and was immediately drawn to the juxtaposition of the deeply forested mountains and vast desert landscapes. Never tiring of the southwestern sky, she is thrilled to be a part of Guardians’ commitment to defend the wild places she loves.

Melissa Hailey

Member, Board of Directors

Melissa Hailey is a lawyer practicing at the firm of Keating Wagner Polidori Free, P.C., in Denver, where she represents plaintiffs in civil cases involving personal injury, insurance, and environmental matters. Prior to moving into private practice, Melissa worked as a staff attorney for WildEarth Guardians from 2006 – 2010. Since then, she served for six years on the board of directors for the Southern Plains Land Trust. Melissa’s love of the West began when her family moved to Denver from Memphis, TN in 1991. She is a wildlife enthusiast and all around animal lover. In addition to her work with WildEarth Guardians, Melissa is an active member of the Colorado Women’s Bar, the Colorado Trial Lawyer’s Association, and the Animal Legal Defense Fund. She also serves as pro bono counsel for the board of directors of High Country News.

Rebecca Vitale Mandich

Member, Board of Directors

Rebecca Vitale Mandich of Palo Alto, CA and Tesuque, NM, was called early to the environmental movement to give voice to the voiceless. An advocate since the 70s, she received her degree in Environmental Studies taught by some of the big thinkers of the time such as Paul Ehrlich, Stewart Brand, Dr. Richard Leakey, Alan Chadwick, and Dr. Donald Aitken, who founded the program at SJSUC as one of first in the nation.

Utilizing that education, coupled with commitment and inspiration, Rebecca started taking actions from working in one of the first solar energy homes to working on ballot measures for better public transportation systems in the Bay Area. She assisted in opening the first Spanish-speaking office for Clinton/Gore campaign in 1992 and registered many in the local Hispanic community, hosting then candidate VP Gore to discuss the environment and community issues.

In the meantime, she married Mitch Mandich and has two grown children, Matthew and Madeleine, and various dogs and cats have graced their lives. Having traveled extensively, her favorite escape is camping in our national parks and on public monuments and lands, where she has experienced all manner of wildlife and wild places.

She became acquainted with WildEarth Guardians about six years ago when she read an article in the San Francisco Chronicle about their lawsuit against U.S. Fish and Wildlife services regarding wolves. She sent them a letter and a fast friendship formed over their mutual love of all things wild.

Rebecca sees much hope in the future of the environmental movement that began with “Save the Whales" to now promoting a food and energy paradigm for the sustainability of natural resources. A deep political will and an openness to examine new ideas dictate her thinking. She feels that embracing environmental changes through engagement, both politically and through grassroots efforts, are paramount for the evolution of a responsible species to continue the ride on, what she affectionately refers to as, Spaceship Earth.

Gay Dillingham

Member, Board of Directors

Gay has consistently juggled her passions for the environment, public policy and communication to deepen our human experience and success while on this marvelous planet.

Co-Founder, Co-CEO of Earthstone International, LLC. Earthstone is an environmental Intellectual Property (IP) company manufacturing recycled glass into an engineered "white foam glass" for surface abrasion, non-toxic cleaning technologies, agriculture products and building materials.

Dillingham owns her own production company, CNS Communications and is an award winning producer/director. Her feature documentary, “Dying to Know” is currently on Netflix.

2003-2010 Dillingham was appointed by Governor Richardson to serve on the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board. The EIB is responsible for environmental management and consumer protection for the state. She Chaired the Board for six years managing the passage of many important regulations including green house gas reduction regulations.

2001-2015 She served as part time executive director for the Livingry Foundation, focusing on sustainable development and long term progressive infrastructure.

Other charitable board service has included New Mexico Association of Grantmakers, Bioneers, New Mexico Community College, New Voice of Business, the Coalition for Quality Children's Media, and World Security Institute out of DC. Dillingham has traveled to North Korea twice: 2010 with Governor Bill Richardson as an energy advisor and in 2015 as one of 30 international women delegates www.womencrossdmz.org.

Gay grew up under the open skies and with her two sisters still owns/operates a working ranch in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. The past few years Gay has been working with Wild Earth Guardians on their Greater Gila Campaign.

Contact

[email protected]
310-923-1465

Lindsay Larris

Wildlife Program Director

Lindsay Larris joined Guardians in April 2019 as the Wildlife Program Director. She strives to protect all species, great and small, in the West. Lindsay grew up in New Jersey and headed west after law school, discovering a passion for all things outdoors during 11 years in Southern California.

She received a B.A. in Political Science from NYU and a J.D. from University of Pennsylvania Law School. While a law student, Lindsay co-founded the Journal of Animal Law and Ethics and helped bring an animal law clinic to Penn Law. Lindsay spent seven years practicing civil litigation in the Los Angeles area, working on environmental litigation, trust and estate litigation, and international arbitration, while doing as much pro-bono work as possible. Seeking a more fulfilling career, in 2013, Lindsay quit private practice, fled to Argentina for six months, and came back committed to working in animal and environmental protection. Prior to joining Guardians, Lindsay worked for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, drafting and advancing legislation and policy initiatives to protect the interests of all animals; wild, captive and domestic.

Lindsay lives in Denver and can be found exploring new trails with her dog, Willow.