Storytelling Project:
Held v. Montana
In March 2020, 16 young people from across the state of Montana filed a lawsuit alleging that their state had failed to protect them from the impacts of climate change. Against all odds, it made history, three years later, when it became the first youth-led climate case to go to trial in the United States. And it made history again, in August 2023, Judge Kathy Seeley ruled in their favor. The State of Montana appealed the ruling, and now their lawsuit is winding its way through the appeals process, its future uncertain.
I first learned about the Held v. Montana lawsuit in January 2022, in a Media Law class at the University of Montana, where I was pursuing a master’s degree in environmental journalism. I talked with Rikki Held, the lead plaintiff, and have been following this story ever since - through the uncertain buildup toward a trial, the trial itself, and its aftermath. My stories focus on the perspective of the youth plaintiffs and their families.
In Summer 2023, I was featured on Public Radio’s Living on Earth program, speaking about my experience reporting on the historic Held v. Montana trial.
Spring 2024 Update: I am still working with the plaintiffs, and am currently pitching a new story on parenthood and climate change. More to come!
Publications
In a Montana Courtroom, Debate Over Whether States Can Make a Difference on Climate Change, and if They Have a Responsibility to Try
Subhead: The first youth-led climate lawsuit to go to trial considered if a statute preventing the state’s environmental agency from denying permits for fossil fuel development contradicts its constitution’s guarantee of a “clean and healthful environment.”
Published in Inside Climate News on June 28th, 2023 | 1,600 words and eight photos
Republished by Wired on July 1st, 2023 with the title “Inside the First Youth-Led Climate Lawsuit to Go to Trial”
In the nation’s first youth-led climate trial, a case for hope
Subtitle: Five days of expert testimony argued that Montana can transition away from fossil fuels and reap economic benefits in the process. Now it’s up to the judge.
Published in High Country News | 1,200 words and five photos
Love of the Land and Community Inspired the Montana Youths Whose Climate Lawsuit Against the State Goes to Court This Week (2023)
Subtitle: For the plaintiffs in the first youth climate lawsuit to go to trial, finding their voice and inspiring others has been as much a salve for their climate grief as bringing their case to trial.
Publications
Published in Inside Climate News on June 12, 2023 | 3,800 words and nine photos
Republished with High Country News on June 14, 2023 with the title “Meet the youth attempting to hold Montana to account on climate”
Republished with Fast Company on June 25, 2023 with the title “Meet the youth suing Montana for not protecting them from climate change”
In 2024, excerpts from this article will be published in a Danish high school textbook to support students in discussing activism and finding their own voices while advancing their English language skills. I’m deeply honored my work is supporting this audience.
If you want to read all 5,000 words of my master’s work, you can find it here, hosted by the University of Montana.
This piece documents the perspectives of the plaintiffs of the historic Held v. Montana lawsuit - the first youth-led climate lawsuit to go to trial in the United States. This project explores the plaintiffs’ involvement in the lawsuit and how their involvement is changing their relationships to their own climate-related mental health. It also explains how the plaintiffs’ psychological concerns reflect larger societal issues related to climate change.
I worked on this story for my environmental journalism master’s project at the University of Montana, and I was fortunate enough to spend 14 months following it - working with plaintiffs, following legal updates, and writing countless drafts. I’m very proud of the result, and have endless gratitude for everyone who supported me in this process, especially my advisor Nadia White.
