Southern Environmental Law Center
“To protect the basic right to clean air, clean water, and a livable climate.”
1 live lawsuit, 37 comments to the agencies, 83 cents of every dollar to the work.
The work
What they do
The South’s most effective environmental law organization.
Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “See part III line 1.” as filed.
Where the money went, FY2025
The work, and what it cost
Energy
$17.1M, 34% of spendingGoals to promote and secure a sustainable energy policy across the south that protects the people and natural resources of the region, enhances the economy, and minimizes the health, environmental, and economic harm of…
Including $16,166 granted onward.
Read it as they filed it
ENERGY: GOALS TO PROMOTE AND SECURE A SUSTAINABLE ENERGY POLICY ACROSS THE SOUTH THAT PROTECTS THE PEOPLE AND NATURAL RESOURCES OF THE REGION, ENHANCES THE ECONOMY, AND MINIMIZES THE HEALTH, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND ECONOMIC HARM OF ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AND AIR POLLUTION, INCLUDING GREENHOUSE GASES. IN PURSUIT OF THESE GOALS, SELC LITIGATES CASES TO REDUCE FOSSIL FUEL USE AND AIR POLLUTION, PROMOTE CLEAN ENERGY, AND REDUCE CONSUMERS' ENERGY BILLS AND TO ENFORCE EXISTING LAWS AND REGULATIONS.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Water
$9.1M, 18% of spendingGoals - to protect and restore water quality and water flow to ensure surface and ground waters in our region can meet long-term human and ecological needs.
Read it as they filed it
WATER: GOALS - TO PROTECT AND RESTORE WATER QUALITY AND WATER FLOW TO ENSURE SURFACE AND GROUND WATERS IN OUR REGION CAN MEET LONG-TERM HUMAN AND ECOLOGICAL NEEDS. IN PURSUIT OF THESE GOALS, SELC LITIGATES CASES TO PROTECT DRINKING WATER AND WATERWAYS FROM POLLUTION AND TO ENFORCE EXISTING LAWS AND REGULATIONS.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Land and Community
$4.2M, 8% of spendingGoals - to promote vibrant communities, protect natural/rural areas, reduce regional greenhouse gas emissions/pollutants through smarter growth/sustainable transportation systems.
Including $57,250 granted onward, the largest share ($23,750) to North Carolinians for Passenger Rail.
Read it as they filed it
LAND AND COMMUNITY: GOALS - TO PROMOTE VIBRANT COMMUNITIES, PROTECT NATURAL/RURAL AREAS, REDUCE REGIONAL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS/POLLUTANTS THROUGH SMARTER GROWTH/SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS. SELC LITIGATES CASES BENEFITING CITIZENS BY ENFORCING EXISTING LAWS.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Wetlands and Coasts
$3.8M, 7% of spendingGoals - to protect and preserve the wetlands and high priority coastal ecosystems in the south for the benefit of wildlife, marine life, and people.
Read it as they filed it
WETLANDS AND COASTS: GOALS - TO PROTECT AND PRESERVE THE WETLANDS AND HIGH PRIORITY COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS IN THE SOUTH FOR THE BENEFIT OF WILDLIFE, MARINE LIFE, AND PEOPLE. IN PURSUIT OF THESE GOALS, SELC LITIGATES CASES TO PROTECT WETLANDS, WILDLIFE, AND MARINE LIFE, SAFEGUARD COMMUNITIES FROM FLOODING, AND ENFORCE EXISTING LAWS AND REGULATIONS.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
83 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.
$41,800,174 programs, $3,263,692 management, $5,390,753 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.
The backers
Backed on the record by John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts and Wilderness Society, latest filing FY24.
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 SELC? Claim this page.
Those 43 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If SELC is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.
Find your way inThe record
The court record
And 1 more in our case database: a selection we track, not their full docket.
Fights alongside Sierra Club (4 shared cases), Appalachian Voices (1 shared case), Defenders of Wildlife (1 shared case), National Trust for Historic Preservation (1 shared case) and The Wilderness Society (1 shared case) and 1 more. Same case, same side, on the federal docket.
The filings
14 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at or tap the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2012 | $13,810,182 |
| 2013 | $17,080,406 |
| 2014 | $23,854,021 |
| 2015 | $39,032,095 |
| 2016 | $35,398,817 |
| 2017 | $37,651,474 |
| 2018 | $47,016,574 |
| 2019 | $60,076,970 |
| 2020 | $39,889,386 |
| 2021 | $40,991,033 |
| 2022 | $82,818,237 |
| 2023 | $53,489,044 |
| 2024 | $62,847,748 |
| 2025 | $58,167,590 |
From $13.8M in 2012 to $58.2M in FY25, with no missed filing in 14 years. 2022, at $82.8M, stands well above the other years on file.
On the Hill
SELC files its own federal lobbying reports: 52 filings from 2019 to 2026, naming 88 bills. The filings, at the Senate.
Most filed on natural resources, clean air and water and government issues.
The record
On the record with the agencies
37 comments on federal decisions since 2023, each filed under the group’s own name on regulations.gov. The latest on decisions we track:
Year by year
The record, in order
- 1986Southern Environmental Law Center is formed.the directory; the return’s own formation year is 1985
- 2017Sierra Club, Inc. v. U.S. Forest Service: counsel, won.the docket
- 20182 cases filed, all since closed: United States Forest Service v. Cowpasture River Preservation Assn.; Cowpasture River Preservation v. Forest Service.the docket
- 2020Wild Virginia v. Council on Environmental Quality: counsel, closed.the docket
- 20233 comments, most to NOAA, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
- 2024Chattooga Conservancy v. United States Department of Agriculture: counsel, closed.the docket
- 3 comments, most to the Fish and Wildlife Service, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
- First appears in the grants of John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts and Wilderness Society.the funders’ returns
- 2025MountainTrue v. United States Forest Service: counsel, still in court.the docket
- 18 comments, most to the Fish and Wildlife Service, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
- 202613 comments, all to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
Rust, a case still in court. Green, a funder’s return. Hollow, a filing. Every row is a record we hold: 6 federal cases with the group on the docket, 37 comments filed under its own name, 3 funders whose returns name it. Nothing here is written from memory.
Their ground
The places they defend
Its February 2024 timber targets lawsuit charges the Forest Service with ignoring the cumulative climate impacts of logging projects including one on the Mark Twain National Forest.
Who’s defending it On the ground · On watchOkefenokee National Wildlife RefugeFiled the 2022 lawsuit against the Army Corps over wetlands decisions enabling the Twin Pines mine on behalf of four national groups, and its senior attorney chaired the Okefenokee Protection Alliance executive committee.
Who’s defending it In the fight · On watchGulf Islands National SeashoreFiled the lawsuit for the coalition challenging the Gulf-wide exemption
Who’s defending it In the fight · On watchPadre Island National SeashoreFiled the D.C. Circuit challenge to the Gulf-wide exemption for the plaintiff coalition
Who’s defending itMost urgent first: open comment windows, then live federal cases, then the threat level. See every threatened place on one map, and who stands for each.
Across the 6 states where they work, the congressional delegations average 35 of 100 on public lands. See the full scorecard
Help complete this profile. If you work here, claim it and send us your current campaigns and the best way for supporters to get involved. An editor checks what you send before it goes up.
Ways in
How to help
Straight to their own donation page. Your dollar never passes through us.
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 the Southern Environmental Law Center
The mission is theirs. The backing is yours.