“As someone who has worked to protect this incredibly diverse and unique landscape for the better part of two decades, this is incredibly exciting and personally rewarding news. My heartfelt thanks to President Biden for taking this important step forward in land conservation.”

Pamela Flick, California program director for Defenders of Wildlife
California

Defenders of Wildlife applauds President Joe Biden’s announcement that he is using the Antiquities Act to expand the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument to include Molok Luyuk (aka Condor Ridge), as part of his goal to conserve 30% of the country's lands and waters by 2030. 

“We’re delighted that President Biden is expanding Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument with the addition of Molok Luyuk. It is critical that wildlife never lose access to this important corridor connecting the Mendocino National Forest to the Cache Creek Wilderness Area, and today’s action ensures they won’t,” said Pamela Flick, Defenders of Wildlife California program director. “As someone who has worked to protect this incredibly diverse and unique landscape for the better part of two decades, this is incredibly exciting and personally rewarding news. My heartfelt thanks to President Biden for taking this important step forward in land conservation.”

BACKGROUND:

Berryessa Snow Mountain became a national monument in July 2015 under President Obama. The monument stretches across more than 340,000 acres and is jointly managed by the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service. The area hosts abundant wildlife including the special status northwestern pond turtle and foothill yellow-legged frog, six globally rare insects, 80 different species of butterflies, along with California newts, black bears, mountain lions and birds of prey.
 

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

Jacqueline Covey
Jacqueline Covey
Communications Specialist
jcovey@defenders.org

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