History & Accomplishments

Protecting clean air, clean water, and special places

We have a record of success. In recent years, we have played leading roles in protecting public lands, combating climate change, and strengthening rules and laws on air and water quality:

  • Permanently protected 795,000 acres of Wilderness and 316 miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers in Idaho. Steered the creation of a statewide Roadless Policy that protects and guides the management of 9.3 million acres of Idaho backcountry.

  • Stopped coal-fired power plants from being built in Idaho and have caused Idaho’s utilities to expedite the closure of the coal-fired power plants they own – putting Idaho on a path to fossil fuel-free electricity by 2045.

  • Strengthened Idaho laws and rules that protect both air and water quality, and we have ensured that Idaho communities and industries adhere to standards in place to protect human health and the environment.

For fifty years, ICL has successfully navigated Idaho’s ever-changing political, economic, and social landscape. ICL has grown from a single staff member to a current staff of 31 passionate and hard-working conservationists operating out of four offices around the state. Our membership has risen to over 11,000, and we have been at the forefront of engaging the public and Idaho’s elected leaders to protect Idaho’s environment.

Since 1973, ICL has worked hard to protect the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the land you love. We have celebrated many accomplishments over 50+ years. There is still much work to be done, but we believe it’s also important to celebrate how far we’ve come. Learn more about our history of success below.

2020s

  • Protected critical bull trout habitat in Lake Pend Oreille's Trestle Creek

  • Held suction dredge miner accountable for polluting Idaho's Clearwater River

  • Protected bull trout habitat in the Boise National Forest

  • Launched a new Wildlife Program

  • Helped secure commitments to saving Idaho's endangered salmon

  • Launched a new North Idaho Lakes Advocacy Program

  • Kept public lands around Payette Lake in public hands

  • Helped hold wastewater treatment plants accountable for violations

  • Helped stop exploration for the Kilgore mine project

  • Supported clean energy for Idaho

  • Generated thousands of comments to protect public lands

  • Helped secure protections for Jarbidge area mine project

  • Great American Outdoors Act passed

  • Successfully advocated to support Montana's decision to improve selenium limits

  • Developed policy recommendations for the Governor's Salmon Workgroup

2010s

  • Helped earn designation for America's first international dark sky reserve

  • Helped pass a levy to protect Boise's open space and clean water

  • Raised nearly $5 million to fund climate work and ensure ICL's future

  • Helped pave the way to early closure of Valmy coal plant

  • Successfully petitioned to designate 259 miles of Salmon River as navigable

  • ICL court victory pushes EPA to fully enact CERCLA "Superfund" act

  • Boulder-White Cloud Mountains permanently protected as wilderness

  • Organized coalition in opposition to 28 million acre public land takeover

  • Campaigned for a continuous and accessible Pend d'Oreille Bay Trail from Sandpoint and Ponderay

  • Worked with mining companies to improving habitat in the Blackfoot River

  • Prevented tons of toxic air pollution and ash from burning trash in Ada County

  • Collaborated with local stakeholders to build statewide support for landscape protection

  • Worked to permanently remove cows from the fragile Owyhee wilderness area

  • Helped effect new rules nationally to deal with airborne mercury

2000s

  • The Owyhee Canyonlands wilderness bill passes

  • Passed Idaho's first countywide open space measure for Blaine County

  • Stopped the single largest source of airborne mercury pollution in the U.S.

  • Led a statewide ballot measure to defeat Proposition 2, limiting private property use

  • Joined a diverse coalition to defeat coal-fired power plant in Magic Valley

  • Championed the Boise Foothills open space levy

  • Helped private landowners exercise their property rights and conserve their land

  • Worked to ensure all Idahoans' concerns were heard as the state planned to manage wolf populations

1990s

  • Made sure state officials and agencies lived up to the Clean Water Act

  • Worked for a more balanced Idaho Forest Practices Act

  • Preserved the Owyhee Canyonlands wildlife habitat from plans to expand a bombing range

  • Protected Boise's Hulls Gulch from an unnecessary and destructive dam

  • Created a $1 million endowment by the end of the 1990s. Purchased historic home within walking distance of Statehouse for ICL office

1980s

  • The Idaho Clean Lakes Act and Water Quality Anti-degradation Act

  • Reinstatement of the Idaho Air Quality Bureau

  • Preserved Idaho's wildlife habitat, rivers, and recreation areas by amending the Idaho Surface Mining Act

  • Preserved the 2.3 million-acre Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness

1970s

  • Helped Idaho communities plan for prosperity and growth through the Idaho Local Planning Act

  • Guaranteed the health of Idaho's rivers and streams through the Idaho Minimum Stream Flow Act