Earthjustice
“Because the earth needs a good lawyer.”
The origin
How they started
Earthjustice is the largest nonprofit environmental law organization in the country, and it represents other groups in federal court for free. It works as the law firm for the environment, with more than 200 attorneys litigating public lands, clean air, and wildlife cases on behalf of clients who could never afford the fight. Its tagline says it plainly: “Because the earth needs a good lawyer.” If a conservation case is in front of a federal judge, Earthjustice lawyers are frequently the ones arguing it.
Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “WE USE THE POWER OF THE LAW TO PROTECT HEALTH, PRESERVE ECOSYSTEMS, AND COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE.”
Where the money went, FY2025
The work, and what it cost
The work as filed
$90.7MPROVIDE FREE LEGAL REPRESENTATION, WORKING THROUGH THE COURTS ON BEHALF OF CITIZEN GROUPS, SCIENTISTS, ENVIRONMENTAL AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS TO ENSURE THAT GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND PRIVATE INTERESTS FOLLOW THE LAW.
Including $2,109,242 granted onward, most of it $3,900,000 to Earthjustice Action.
Read it as they filed it
PROVIDE FREE LEGAL REPRESENTATION, WORKING THROUGH THE COURTS ON BEHALF OF CITIZEN GROUPS, SCIENTISTS, ENVIRONMENTAL AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS TO ENSURE THAT GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND PRIVATE INTERESTS FOLLOW THE LAW.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Pressing the policymakers
$45.5MPROVIDE INCREASED PUBLIC, MEDIA, AND POLICY MAKER AWARENESS OF ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND THE ROLE OF LAW IN SOLVING THEM.
Including $4,073,536 granted onward.
Read it as they filed it
PROVIDE INCREASED PUBLIC, MEDIA, AND POLICY MAKER AWARENESS OF ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND THE ROLE OF LAW IN SOLVING THEM.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
81 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 Earthjustice is nowhere near one.
Backed on the record by David and Lucile Packard Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Resources Legacy Fund and 7 others, latest filing FY24.
$136,206,276 programs, $16,612,297 management, $14,729,427 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.
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 EJ? Claim this page.
Those 33 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If EJ is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.
Make it 34The record
The court record
And 31 more in our case database: a selection we track, not their full docket.
14 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2011 | $34,546,225 |
| 2012 | $38,343,960 |
| 2013 | $37,964,755 |
| 2014 | $46,083,715 |
| 2015 | $48,137,000 |
| 2016 | $51,911,899 |
| 2017 | $93,930,788 |
| 2018 | $79,992,361 |
| 2019 | $102,807,555 |
| 2020 | $146,974,685 |
| 2021 | $114,892,586 |
| 2022 | $135,320,966 |
| 2023 | $125,960,142 |
| 2025 | $170,827,511 |
From $34.5M in 2011 to $170.8M in FY25, across 14 public filings.
Fights alongside Center for Biological Diversity (19 shared cases), Natural Resources Defense Council (14 shared cases), Sierra Club (14 shared cases), Defenders of Wildlife (8 shared cases) and Friends of the Earth (7 shared cases) and 35 more. Same case, same side, on the federal docket.
The record
On the Hill
Earthjustice files its own federal lobbying reports: 26 filings from 2019 to 2025, naming 237 bills. The filings, at the Senate.
Most filed on clean air and water (quality), government issues and budget/appropriations.
Their ground
The places they defend
Counsel in the long-running litigation against the Rock Creek and Montanore mines proposed beneath the wilderness
Who’s defending it On the groundNPR-A Teshekpuk Lake Special AreaCounsel in back to back federal suits challenging the 2025 approval of ConocoPhillips exploration drilling and the 2026 lease sale that offered nearly all of the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area.
Who’s defending it On the groundPacific Remote Islands Marine NMFiled the May 2025 lawsuit challenging the executive order opening the monument to commercial fishing and won an August 2025 ruling vacating the Fisheries Service letter that implemented it.
Who’s defending it In the fightBears Ears National MonumentCounsel in the federal litigation over the monument’s boundaries
Who’s defending it In the fightTongass National ForestHas litigated the Tongass Roadless Rule fights for two decades
Who’s defending it In the fightBaaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni National MonumentCounsel for the conservation groups that intervened to defend the monument and the Antiquities Act
Who’s defending itSee every threatened place on one map, and who stands for each.
Earthjustice files one related organization on its return: Earthjustice Action (501(c)(4)). A related organization shares people or purpose; it does not share the books.
Ways in
How to help
81 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 NetworkFollowFollow the monumentsBears Ears and Grand Staircase, tracked as they move. Alerts when it matters.
Monument WatchStand with Earthjustice
55 years on the ground, 33 volunteers, 4 live lawsuits, 81 cents of every dollar on the line. That is who is holding it. There is room for one more.