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On Wednesday, the Montana Supreme Court upheld a ruling that said the state was violating citizens' constitutional right to a clean environment by permitting oil, gas, and coal projects on public lands.
The lawsuit was filed in 2020 by 16 Montanans now ranging in ages from 7 to 23. In 2023, a state district court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, who said climate change is causing worsening wildfires and fouling the air they breathe. They also said that drought and decreased snowpack are depleting rivers that sustain farming, fish, wildlife, recreation, and Native American traditions.
The state argued that greenhouse gases released from Montana fossil fuel projects are minuscule on a global scale and reducing them would have no effect on climate change. But the judges, in a 6-1 ruling, rejected the state's argument. Going forward, Montana must carefully assess the greenhouse gas emissions and climate impacts of all future fossil fuel permits.
“This ruling is a victory not just for us, but for every young person whose future is threatened by climate change,” lead plaintiff Rikki Held said in a statement Wednesday.
Environmentalists sue to stop Utah's land grab lawsuit
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) sued Utah Governor Spencer Cox and Attorney General Sean Reyes over their attempt to seize control of over 18 million acres of national public land. SUWA argues that taking the land grab lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court violated Utah's constitution, which says that in exchange for becoming part of the United States, Utah “forever disclaim[ed] all right and title to the unappropriated public lands" within it.
“Utahns love their public lands,” said Steve Bloch, SUWA's legal director. “They’re not about to simply see them sold off or given up without a fight.”
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We've always had this really intricate relationship with the landscape. We've hunted, we've fished, we've gathered. And those are all management tools. Everything that we do has been in balance with the natural world.”
