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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.
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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.
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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
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The ‘Recovering America’s Wildlife Act’ Does Not Adequately Respond to the Extinction Crisis
In front of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Dan Ashe, president and CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, testified about the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA). Ashe spoke on behalf of the association’s 239 accredited members and on behalf of Defenders of Wildlife and its more than 2.2 million members and supporters. In his testimony he emphasized the need for the bill to include more support for federal wildlife conservation programs.
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Federal and State Officials Announce Plan to Feed Malnourished Manatees
Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced that the agencies will launch a program to feed malnourished manatees in the Indian River Lagoon.
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Biden Administration Moves to Withdraw Trump-Era Pipeline Approval for Cadiz’s California Desert Water Grab
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management today moved to scrap a Trump administration decision challenged by conservation groups last March that illegally granted a pipeline
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$26,000 Reward Offered for Info on Fatal Poisoning of 8 Gray Wolves in Eastern Oregon
UPDATE: 12/15/2021: Thanks to additional contributions from members of the public and environmental groups, the reward for information leading to an arrest now stands at
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Congress Urged to Protect the Sage-Grouse from Harmful Appropriations Rider
Today, dozens of environmental groups—including Defenders of Wildlife, American Bird Conservancy, Western Watersheds Project, The Pew Charitable Trusts and Natural Resources Defense Council—and their millions of members are calling on Congress and the Biden administration to take a stand for the greater sage-grouse as anti-wildlife members of the House and Senate appropriations committees threaten to derail a hard-fought win for the imperiled bird earlier this year.
jcovey@defenders.org
