....that Dan Rohlf and Craig Johnston launched an environmental law clinic at Lewis & Clark Law School. At the time there were numerous grassroots organizations fighting timber sales, trying to save spotted owls, salmon and condors, and trying to clean up our polluted rivers. Dan and Craig knew that if the environmental movement was going to succeed, it would need excellent advocates to protect and enforce statutes like the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act. At the same time, there were so many law students interested in environmental law, but not a lot of opportunities for them to gain practical experience before graduation.
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The Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center, or PEAC, was created to address these needs. By hiring a staff attorney, Nicole Cordan, the clinic was able to teach real world litigation skills to future attorneys while serving more clients and protecting our natural resources.
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The number of students at PEAC grew, as well as the number of staff and faculty--many who were alumni of the clinic itself. With the hire of Kevin Cassidy in 2012, who opened a second office in Massachusetts, PEAC changed its name to Earthrise to reflect the expanding geographical breadth of its cases.
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The clinic's evolution continues. In 2016, Earthrise expanded its fellowship program and hired legal fellow, Doug DeRoy, to work alongside our senior fellow, Ryan Shannon. Nina Robertson opened an office in San Francisco and began working as our newest staff attorney. Earthrise now has 12 staff and 3 offices, serving dozens of clients in multiple states. But more importantly, there are now 400 Earthrise alumni that are using the litigation skills they learned here, and are doing great work in their communities to protect our air, water and critters.
The kind of expertise that Earthrise's attorneys have is so important right now. And with the political uncertainty in our country and in our courts, precedent-setting litigation of the type we specialize in is liable to become more challenging and time-consuming. If you would like to see Earthrise continue for another 20 years, please consider giving to our 20/20 Giving campaign. We are inviting our supporters, friends and alumni to donate $20 a month in honor of the 20 years that Earthrise has been working for the environment. Take a stand with Earthrise!
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Since the early 90's, Earthrise's attorneys and students have done amazing work. We have saved red tree voles, bald eagles, spotted owls and salmon. We have protected the Pacific Northwest from countless timber sales, coal burning facilities, open pit mines and overgrazing of public lands. We have protected rivers in Illinois, Connecticut, Washington, Oregon and California. We have set legal precedent in cases regarding the Clean Water Act. And we have trained hundreds of future environmental attorneys. Earthrise's record of success over the last two decades is hard to sum up, but you can see for yourself in our 20 Year Retrospective and in a moving video that tells the story of how the clinic got started and why its existence is so important.
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| • After more than four years of litigation, Earthrise prevailed in federal district court, on behalf of its clients Quad Cities Waterkeeper and Prairie Rivers Network, in a Clean Water Act citizen suit involving the long-term dumping of massive amounts of concrete and other construction waste in the Green River in western Illinois.
• On behalf of a coalition of salmon advocates, Earthrise and Earthjustice obtained a major (149-page) ruling in favor of our clients in our challenge to the National Marine Fisheries Service's latest—and still inadequate—plan to reform dam operations and restore salmon and steelhead in the Columbia Basin.
• On behalf of Northwest Environmental Advocates, Earthrise favorably settled two cases against the U.S. EPA that will strengthen water quality standards for toxic pollutants like arsenic, cadmium, and copper in Idaho and Oregon.
• On behalf of the Connecticut River Watershed Council, Earthrise secured a settlement to end years of Clean Water Act violations into the Connecticut River from an industrial bean sprout farm in western Massachusetts, which also resulted in significant payments to support local environmental enhancement projects.
• Earthrise filed a petition for review of the "Clean Water Rule," a major new regulation promulgated by EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers that defines the scope of Clean Water Act jurisdiction. On behalf of several clients including the Waterkeeper Alliance, Center for Biological Diversity, and the Center for Food Safety, we have argued that the Rule unlawfully fails to protect many important waters that provide habitat to threatened and endangered species.
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In This Issue- Looking back at two decades of Earthrise
- 20 Year Video and Retrospective
- #GivingTuesday Event--Nov. 29th!
- Party and Founder's Legacy Fellowship
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After you've finished your Thanksgiving leftovers, come indulge your tastebuds at our Dine & Donate event at Portobello Vegan Trattoria. Portobello is donating 10% of sales to Earthrise's Founders’ Legacy Fellowship Fund as part of #Giving Tuesday.
Located in SE Portland, Portobello serves Mediterranean-inspired dinner five nights and Sunday brunch. They source organic ingredients and work directly with several local farms, have a full bar and yes, everything is vegan.
Make your reservations today, they book up quickly! What: Dine & Donate on #GivingTuesday
When: Nov. 29th, 2016 5:30pm to 9pm
Where: Portobello, 1125 SE Division, Portland, OR 97202
If you can't make it for dinner, you can still support the Fellowship Fund by clicking below.
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At our 20th Anniversary party in September, we laughed, heard great speeches, ran into old friends, saw a moving film and read through the 20 Year Retrospective. We also announced the launch of our Founders’ Legacy Fellowship Fund in honor of our founders, Dan Rohlf and Craig Johnston who hope to leave a legacy of environmental advocacy that will continue for the next 20 years. Started in 2013, Earthrise’s fellowship program has grown and now includes two full-time fellows.
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Legal Fellows, Doug DeRoy and Ryan Shannon
Over their two years with Earthrise, legal fellows are treated as first year associates—developing their own cases while simultaneously working with senior attorneys to gain valuable experience at the beginning of their careers. This fellowship helps ensure that recent law school graduates have the opportunity to get a jumpstart on their careers as environmental advocates.
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| Now that it's 2016, we've stepped it up and are on three social media sites! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook AND Instagram!
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