Stories of Kinship

In our inaugural episode of the Clean and Healthful Montana Podcast, we sit down with Derf Johnson, Deputy Director of the Montana Environmental Information Center (MEIC) , to unpack a recent district court ruling. The Case: Mont. Dep’t of Env’tl Quality, MEIC, et al. v. Mont. Bd. of Env’tl Review, Teck Coal/EVR, Lincoln County — Cause No. DV-2023-21 (1st Jud. Dist., Lewis & Clark Cnty.) The Decis...

We’re back! After a break from sharing episodes, Stories of Kinship is returning with a timely conversation featuring WELC board member, Cliff Villa. As professor and tenured faculty member at the University of New Mexico School of Law, Cliff provides clinical training to students in the Natural Resources and Environmental Law Clinic. Before joining UNM, Cliff spent more than 20 years as legal cou...

Coming up on September 13-21, Latino Conservation Week (LCW) will bring together communities to connect with nature, take their first steps in advocacy training, and celebrate what it means to be Latino in conservation. Led by Hispanic Access Foundation and partner organizations across the country, LCW is a special moment to amplify the work of local leaders and create access points for whole fami...

Humpback whales. California condors. Island foxes. What do these species have in common? In addition to a shared characteristic of general awesomeness, these special creatures also escaped very near extinctions thanks to protections from the Endangered Species Act (ESA). A core environmental law in the U.S., the ESA represents one of the best tools we have for safeguarding wildlife and critical ha...

Whether you love creatures with a gift for ecological engineering or want to see more stunning overpasses and underpasses help highways everywhere become safer (for drivers and wildlife!), this one’s for you. Our team could not be more excited to share this episode featuring WELC deputy director and incredible wildlife advocate, Sristi Kamal, along with our special guest, Ben Goldfarb. You may rec...

“Are you failing with the doomscrolling as much as I am?” The past two months have been a lot on every level. For those of us trying to strike the balance between informed and overwhelmed, it’s hard to know where to focus. So in this conversation, WELC’s Erik Schlenker-Goodrich guides us through impacts from recent Executive Orders, DOGE projects, and attacks on foundational environmental laws lik...

In December 2024, 16 youth plaintiffs and the legal teams at WELC, Our Children’s Trust, and McGarvey Law made climate justice HISTORY! In a massive victory at the Montana Supreme Court after years of work, the court upheld a landmark decision in favor of youth climate activists. In a final 6-1 vote, the justices ruled that Montana was violating residents’ constitutional right to a clean environme...

What is it like to be advocating at the state level while trying to track and oppose the chaos we’re seeing at the federal level right now? What are WELC’s priorities for the 2025 New Mexico legislative session? What can people do to stay focused and fired up during this brutal period of attacks on climate justice and human rights? In this conversation with WELC’s Erik Schlenker-Goodrich and Brian...