Cottonwood Environmental Law Center
“Protect wildlife and wild places through litigation.”
17 years on the ground, 85 cents of every dollar to the work.
The origin
How they started
Cottonwood Environmental Law Center is essentially John Meyer, who founded it in Bozeman after finishing law school in 2009 and built a habit of suing the federal government over how it manages forests. Its biggest mark is the 2015 Cottonwood decision, where the Ninth Circuit ruled the Forest Service had to reconsult on Canada lynx critical habitat, a holding that rattled timber projects across the Northern Rockies and drew a Supreme Court fight. Cottonwood also litigates Yellowstone bison and Clean Water Act cases.
Where the money went, FY2024
The work, and what it cost
Restoring Constitutional Rights and Regulating Single Use
$16K, 4% of spendingPlastics in Montana.
Read it as they filed it
Restoring Constitutional Rights and Regulating Single Use Plastics in Montana.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2024, signed under penalty of perjury.
Continuing prosecution of big sky water
$3,114, 1% of spendingAnd sewer district for violations of the Clean Water Act on the gallatin river
Read it as they filed it
CONTINUING PROSECUTION OF BIG SKY WATER AND SEWER DISTRICT FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE CLEAN WATER ACT ON THE GALLATIN RIVER
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2024, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
85 cents of every dollar goes to the work
A good sign, not a scorecard: what matters is the extremes, and this is nowhere near one.
$321,694 programs, $24,922 management, $30,248 fundraising. Form 990, FY2024.
The people
Who does the work
Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. If it’s out of date, tell us. Work at the Cottonwood Environmental Law Center? Claim this page.
The filings
13 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at or tap the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2012 | $81,609 |
| 2013 | $57,419 |
| 2014 | $100,589 |
| 2015 | $102,981 |
| 2016 | $56,037 |
| 2017 | $308,948 |
| 2018 | $64,588 |
| 2019 | $50,329 |
| 2020 | $81,252 |
| 2021 | $142,583 |
| 2022 | $324,892 |
| 2023 | $242,672 |
| 2024 | $408,399 |
From $82K in 2012 to $408K in FY24, with no missed filing in 13 years. FY24 is the highest year on file.
In court
Fights alongside Conservation Alliance (1 shared case). Same case, same side, on the federal docket. Their dockets on CourtListener.
Year by year
The record, in order
- 2009Cottonwood Environmental Law Center is formed.the return, formation year
- 2012Biodiversity Conservation Alliance v. United States Forest Service: counsel, closed.the docket
- 2013Cottonwood Environmental Law Center v. United States Forest Service: plaintiff, closed.the docket
Hollow, a filing. Every row is a record we hold: 2 federal cases with the group on the docket. Nothing here is written from memory.
Under threat right now
On CELC’s docket, and nearby
The places named in The Cottonwood Environmental Law Center’s own federal cases lead; then the fights in Montana, most urgent first.
- Threat developingFlathead National ForestMontana
- 1 case in federal court, filed 2026American PrairieMontana
- Critical threatCabinet Mountains WildernessMontana
- Threat developing2026 Blowdown Emergency Logging (Northern Rockies)Montana
Every place under threat, the fifty states and the wildlife, each with who’s on the record for it.
The Montana congressional delegation averages 7 of 100 on public lands. See the full scorecard
The Wyoming congressional delegation averages 3 of 100 on public lands. See the full scorecard
The Idaho congressional delegation averages 4 of 100 on public lands. See the full scorecard
Ways in
How to help
Stand with the Cottonwood Environmental Law Center
The mission is theirs. The backing is yours.