Earthrise Law Center

Background

Earthrise Law Center is an legal clinic based at the Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. The center provides “low or no-cost” legal services for nonprofits and national organizations advocating for “protecting endangered species and ecosystems to preventing and reducing air and water pollution.”  ³

The center was initially created in 1996 as the Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center (PEAC) while changing its name in 2012 to the Earthrise Law Center following its focus on national cases. As of 2025, the center has nine full-time employees and operates out of Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, with an additional office in Massachusetts. ⁴

The center advocates diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, with an ad on its website publishing  a “Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion” statement on its website. The organization declares, “Earthrise has a responsibility to elevate justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) in the legal profession and in our efforts to train future environmental advocates.”  ⁵

Activities

As of April 2025, Earthrise Law Center has filed legal challenges against the U.S. Forest Service for allegedly bypassing mandated environmental review of emergency lodging in Nelder Sequoia Grove within California’s Sierra National Forest, against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding its plans for treating water pollution within the Deschutes River and Budd Inlet sound through Oregon, and to protect salmon populations within Oregon rivers.  ⁶

In addition, the organization has filed legal action to oppose commercial farming operations, management plans for dam projects, hydropower projects, and nuclear energy development.  ^{7  8}

Clients

Listed clients of the Earthrise Law Center include American Rivers, Animal Legal Defense Fund, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Food Safety, Defenders of Wildlife, Environmental Integrity Project, Environmental Justice Action Group, Environmental Protection Information Center, Food & Water Watch, Friends of Animals, Humane Society of the United States, and the Sierra Club. ⁹

Listed foundation partners of the center include Patagonia, the Jackson Foundation, the Mead Family Foundation, and the Rose Foundation. ⁹

Leadership

Dan Rohlf is the director of the Earthrise Law Center. Rohlf has also worked as a professor at the Lewis and Clark Law School since 1989, where he teaches “Wildlife Law; Public Lands; Law, Science, and the Environment,” “Sustainability in Law” and additional courses on the school’s environmental and natural resources program. Rohlf has authored The Endangered Species Act: A Guide to Its Protections and Implementation. ¹⁰