Join Staff Attorney Bryan Hurlbutt to learn about Advocates for the West’s efforts to protect birds and other wildlife from mining and industrial threats.
As free lawyers for the environment, Advocates for the West protects and defends the West’s public lands, water, fish, wildlife, and communities. The non-profit environmental law firm empowers conservation organizations, Native American Tribes, and environmental advocates through top-notch, strategic legal services, including in a decade-long fight to safeguard the Boise River watershed from the CuMo Mine Exploration Project.
The CuMo exploration site is upstream of half of Idaho’s population and threatens sensitive species such as the Great Grey Owl, American Goshawk, wolverine, and the rare plant Sacajawea’s bitterroot. Through the project, Idaho Copper hopes to find sufficient copper and molybdenum to excavate one of the largest open-pit accessible molybdenum mines in the world—all within the Boise River watershed.
Other efforts Bryan will address include Advocates for the West’s fight on many fronts to stop the massive open-pit cyanide leach Stibnite Gold Mine in Idaho’s South Fork Salmon River Watershed, and a large portfolio of cases to defend the imperiled Greater Sage-Grouse and their habitats across 71 million acres in the American West from threats of habitat fragmentation and industrialization.
About Bryan Hurlbutt:
Bryan joined Advocates for the West in September 2011 and works mostly on cases with the Idaho Conservation League. He has successfully litigated and settled numerous cases to protect Idaho's wild lands, rivers, fish, and wildlife. Bryan also oversees our program for Legal Fellows, Law Clerks, and other up-and-coming environmental lawyers. Bryan served on the board of the Environment and Natural Resources Section of the Idaho State Bar and is currently on the board of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative.
Bryan grew up in Twin Falls, Idaho, studied physics at Colorado College (2004), and earned his JD from Columbia Law School (2010). During law school, Bryan spent as much time as he could in the Columbia Environmental Law Clinic and worked as a summer law clerk at Hudson Riverkeeper (2008) and the Waterkeeper Alliance (2009). After law school, Bryan moved to Boise and clerked for Justice Roger Burdick on the Idaho Supreme Court.
Most days, you can find Bryan enjoying nature in the Boise foothills on a morning dog hike, midday run, and/or evening bike ride. He and his family love to travel, from regularly road tripping around the West to the occasional trip abroad. He also loves exploring Idaho: in 2018, Bryan planned and ran a marathon—every month that year—through every federally-designated wilderness area in the Gem State. He also enjoys playing the classical guitar and goofing around with his kids.
This program is free and open to everyone.