Landmark Legal Foundation -- a conservative nonprofit law firm -- has filed three lawsuits against federal agencies seeking to compel the agencies to release information about government grants to environmental groups.

"We want to know exactly what the money is going for, to whom and whether the federal government has a handle on what's going on," said Mark Levin, president of Landmark Legal Foundation in Herndon, Va.

Landmark filed the suits against the Forest Service, Environmental Protection Agency and Bureau of Land Management on Dec. 5. The legal actions resulted from an Oct. 21 Bee story showing that federal agencies have awarded more than $400 million in grants to national environmental groups since 1998.

"You woke us up," Levin said, referring to The Bee article, part of an ongoing series -- Environment Inc. -- focusing on environmental nonprofits.

Levin said the suits were filed because the agencies did not respond to three Freedom of Information Act requests filed Oct. 24 seeking information. Forest Service spokeswoman Heidi Valetkevitch declined to respond. "It's our policy not to comment on any pending legal matters," she said. Representatives of the Bureau of Land Management and the EPA also declined to comment.

The Bee article documented a wide range of federal grants to environmental groups for purposes ranging from the restoration of wildlife habitat to field projects related to former Vice President Al Gore's visit to South Africa.

More than half of the $400 million was used by environmental groups -- such as The Nature Conservancy and Conservation International -- to purchase and protect land and species.

But some also was routed to more controversial activities, such as advocacy and lobbying, The Bee's article found.

Overall, the article found that more than 24 federal agencies award money to environmental groups, but no branch of government charts the total amount of spending or assesses what taxpayers are getting for their money.

Landmark, in its information requests, seeks to learn more, asking the Forest Service, BLM and EPA to disclose thousands of financial and other documents about grants to environmental nonprofits from Jan. 20, 1993 -- the day the Clinton administration took office -- to Oct. 24, 2001.

"The first thing we are doing is gathering facts," Levin said. "We won't make allegations without the facts.

"Ultimately what we'd like to see ... is the de-funding of those kinds of activities where the federal government is giving millions and millions of dollars to organizations that have an agenda."

Environmentalists don't like the sound of it.

"Maybe Landmark ought to think about investing its money helping people, not beating up on agencies," said Mike Peterson, conservation program director at the Lands Council.

The Spokane-based Lands Council, an activist group, recently received a $30,000 Forest Service grant to help people in rural areas protect their homes from wildfire.

Landmark has been involved in a number of high-profile efforts to examine the inner workings of federal agencies, including administrative rule-making at the Environmental Protection Agency during the Clinton years.

And although the foundation pursues conservative causes, Levin said its agenda is not driven by political interests.