On April 16, it was announced from San Francisco that Evgenia Chirikova, one of the founders and organizers of the Defend Khimki Forest movement, based in Moscow, Russia, is the 2012 European winner of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize. "EarthAction salutes Chirikova for her focused, persistent and effective work to protect this important forest on the outskirts of Moscow," says Lois Barber, EarthAction's Co-founder and Executive Director. Starting in July 2010 and throughout 2011, EarthAction rallied its global network in support of Chirikova's work to protect the Khimki Forest from being the site of a planned highway connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg. For its part, EarthAction issued a series of global Action Alerts mobilizing people and organizations worldwide to take action in support of the Khimki forest and the local organizers in Moscow.

Lawmakers have proposed narrowing the planned highway through the Khimki Forest from four lanes to two lanes, but that simply wouldn't be enough to save the rich wildlife, endangered species, and beloved birch trees from deforestation. The Movement to Defend Khimki Forest is now filling a lawsuit against the highway builders, PO 'DorInzhStroyProyect' LLC in an effort to save the threatened ecosystem.