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greater sage grouse
Washington, D.C.

Final Rescission of Public Lands Rule Reverses Modern Land Management, Threatens Wildlife Habitat

The Bureau of Land Management today announced a decision to roll back the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, commonly referred to as the Public Lands Rule. The policy modernized how BLM manages our national public lands and represented the critical incorporation of ecological resilience into management alongside traditional resource extraction. The rule required science-based decision-making, conservation considerations within multiple land uses and a focus on sustaining public lands for the long-term benefit of wildlife and the American people.
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wind farm
Washington, D.C

Trump Administration Cancels Critical Offshore Wind Projects and Increases Costs for Taxpayers

The Department of Interior this week announced that two offshore wind companies, Bluepoint Wind and Golden State Wind, have abandoned their developments. According to reports, the companies received some $900 million to walk away from the projects.
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Laura Nunes
Washington, D.C.

Defenders’ Laura Nunes Named to Prestigious ESIIL Working Group

Defenders of Wildlife scientist Laura Nunes has been selected to join the Environmental Data Science Innovation & Impact Lab’s third cohort of working groups.

Press Releases

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Sagebrush Sea with mountains at sunset.
Washington, DC

Defenders of Wildlife Launches New Campaign to Expand the National Wildlife Refuge System

To address the biodiversity and climate crises and to promote more equitable access to the outdoors, Defenders of Wildlife today announced a new campaign to expand the National Wildlife Refuge System – the only federal lands system dedicated to the protection of wildlife.
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Bald eagle sitting at the top of an evergreen tree
Madison, Wisconsin

Conservation Groups File to Pause Transmission Line Construction to Protect Wildlife Refuge

Today, four conservation groups including Defenders of Wildlife, filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin to temporarily halt construction of a new high-voltage transmission line that would threaten the protected Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge and Wisconsin’s Driftless Area.
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Bald eagle
Washington, DC

Biden Administration Restores Protections for Three National Monuments

Today, the Biden administration signed three proclamations restoring protections for Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monuments.
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North atlantic right whale
Portland, ME

Defenders of Wildlife Intervenes in Maine Lawsuit in Order to Protect Right Whales

Today, Defenders of Wildlife, along with the Conservation Law Foundation and Center for Biological Diversity, filed to intervene in a case filed by the Maine Lobstering Union (MLU) in the District of Maine on September 27, 2021.
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Polar bears on ice
Washington, D.C.

New Assessment of Polar Bear Populations Underway as Climate Change Worsens

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced that it will conduct a five-year review of polar bear populations. Polar bears are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act, which requires FWS to review the status of the species periodically. The most recent review was conducted in 2017.
Senior Vice President, External Affairs
lsheehan@defenders.org
(202) 772-3244
Communications Director
mdewane@defenders.org
(202) 772-0217
Communications Specialist
jcovey@defenders.org
Communications Specialist
kirby@defenders.org
(202) 772-3268