Cottonwood Environmental Law Center
“Protect wildlife and wild places through litigation.”
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.
Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “Organization is dedicated to protecting the people, forests, water and wildlife in the west”
Where the money went, FY2024
The work, and what it cost
Boots on the ground
$16KRestoring Constitutional Rights and Regulating Single Use Plastics 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.
Guarding the water
$3KCONTINUING PROSECUTION OF BIG SKY WATER AND 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
That ratio is a good sign, not a scorecard. Plenty of great groups run leaner and lumpier. What matters is the extremes, and Cottonwood Environmental Law Center 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. Orgs that claim their page can update it same-day. Work at Cottonwood Environmental Law Center? Claim this page.
The filings
13 years of filings
13 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at 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. The 2024 peak of $408K reads like one-time gifts, so trust the line, not the peak.
Fights alongside Center for Biological Diversity (1 shared case) and Conservation Alliance (1 shared case). Same case, same side, on the federal docket.
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
85 cents of your dollar goes straight to the work above.
Give on their site ↗Show upVolunteer with themFind their volunteer door on their own site.
Find it on their site ↗SpeakComment and callOpen comment windows and call scripts for fights like these, ready to send.
Public Lands Action NetworkFollowWatch the mapEvery threatened place in the country, tracked, with who stands for each.
Threatened Lands MapStand with Cottonwood Environmental Law Center
17 years on the ground, 85 cents of every dollar on the line. That is who is holding it. There is room for one more.