New Orleans Attorney Receives National Sierra Club Award

SAN FRANCISCO – Sept. 23, 2000 – A New Orleans attorney was among those receiving national awards from the Sierra Club this year.

Eric Huber received the club’s William O. Douglas Award, which recognizes significant contributions in the field of environmental law.

Working as an attorney for the EarthJustice Legal Fund based in New Orleans, Huber has won several landmark cases on behalf of the Sierra Club, including a precedent-setting ruling in Georgia that has changed the way the states and the federal government deal with water pollution and a lawsuit to protect the Chattahoochee and Oconee National Forests in Georgia from unlawful logging.

He also won an Alabama case that was one of the first to successfully challenge and overturn an ill-conceived habitat conservation plan. The case resulted in significant protections of habitat for the endangered Alabama beach mouse.

"Eric is an outstanding lawyer who has in recent years produced a truly amazing legal track record for the Sierra Club," said Alex Levinson, staff director of the Sierra Club’s Environmental Law Program.

The Sierra Club, which was founded in 1892 by John Muir, is the country’s oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization. It currently has more than 600,000 members. For more information on the club, visit its Web site at http://www.sierraclub.org.