Image
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.
Image
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.
Image
Construction on Gateway to Road through Izembek Continues
The Ninth Circuit today denied Defenders of Wildlife’s emergency motion to halt construction on King Cove Corp.’s 2.8-mile road segment leading to the doorstep of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness. Defenders’ request for immediate injunctive relief marks the latest stage in its larger effort to block a damaging and precedent-setting road from King Cove to Cold Bay, Alaska, that would plow through the heart of Izembek.
Press Releases
Image
Defenders of Wildlife Applauds Senator Ossoff, Army Corps Decision to Block Mine Threatening Okefenokee Swamp
Defenders of Wildlife applauded an announcement by the Army Corps of Engineers that it vacated the jurisdictional determination for a mining project threatening the Okefenokee Swamp in southern Georgia, following pressure from Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and the notification that the Corps had not fully consulted with or considered the wetland’s cultural and historical significance to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
Image
California Court Paves the Way for Protection of Imperiled Bumble Bees and Other Insects
California's Third District Court of Appeal ruled that the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) can protect invertebrates, including four species of imperiled native bumble bees that the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (Xerces), the Center for Food Safety (CFS), and Defenders of Wildlife (Defenders) petitioned the State of California to protect in 2018.
Image
Legal Agreement Will Protect Critical Habitat for Threatened Florida Manatee
In a legal agreement with the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife and Save the Manatee Club, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has committed to revise critical habitat for the Florida manatee by September 2024.
Image
Defenders of Wildlife Offering Reward for Information About Four Dead Wolves in Washington
Defenders of Wildlife is offering $2,500 for information after four wolves were discovered dead in Stevens County, Washington earlier this year. The information must lead to a poaching conviction.
Image
Court Restores Wolverine Protections While Agency Reconsiders Endangered Species Decision
The wolverine has regained candidate species status under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) following a Montana District Court decision late Thursday.
jcovey@defenders.org
