For Immediate Release

Public records obtained by Defenders of Wildlife pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request reveal that the Department of the Interior is planning a potentially illegal land exchange to remove wilderness wetlands in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska from federal public ownership for the construction of a controversial, damaging and unnecessary road.

The Washington Post reported on the controversial proposal.

The following statement is from Jamie Rappaport Clark, Former president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife:

“These records expose yet another of Secretary Zinke’s secretive, backroom deals to sell off and sell out our public lands and wildlife. We will not stand by and watch while some of the most important wildlife habitat on the planet is sacrificed for surreptitious commercial interests.

“If this proposal, which reflects a terrible abuse of power, is successful in Izembek, then none of our public lands, waters and wildlife will be safe.

“If they can pull this off in Alaska, the entire Lower 48 is at risk.”

For nearly 80 years, Defenders of Wildlife has worked to protect and restore America’s wildlife at risk of extinction, advancing a vision of a future in which wildlife thrives, sustained by broad public support and a resilient network of healthy lands and waters. With a network of more than 2 million supporters, Defenders is an advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard wildlife for generations to come. To learn more, please visit https://defenders.org/newsroom or follow us on Instagram @defendersofwildlife.  

 

Media Contact

News

2019.08.07 - Florida Panther looking straight at camera - MS 45 - fStop Foundation
WASHINGTON, D.C.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Memo Underscores Trump Administration’s All-Fronts War on Wildlife

Brian Nesvik, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, issued a memorandum explaining to FWS staff that the Endangered Species Act’s prohibition on unauthorized “take” applies only to affirmative acts intentionally and purposefully directed at a particular animal. This follows the Trump administration’s rescission of the regulatory definitions of “harm” under the ESA, which took effect this week.
A close up of the face of a Sierra Nevada Red Fox at the edge of a forest in Deschutes County, Oregon.
Washington, D.C.

Court Rules Habitat Must Be Protected After FWS Attempts to Waive Protections for Less Than 40 Sierra Nevada Red Fox

Defenders of Wildlife earned a significant victory for the Endangered Species Act today when a federal district court found that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to not designate critical habitat for the endangered Sierra Nevada red fox was a violation of the law.
Visit the newsroom