Image
Defenders Sends Notice of Intent to Sue the Trump Administration over Rescission of ‘Harm’
Defenders of Wildlife today sent a letter to the Department of Interior and the Department of Commerce signaling its intent to sue over the administration’s rescission of the long-standing definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act.
Image
Defenders of Wildlife Raises Concerns Over Proposed BLM Rule That Would Roll Back Land Health and Grazing Safeguards
Defenders of Wildlife today submitted comments on the Bureau of Land Management’s proposed livestock grazing regulations, urging that healthy public lands and robust public participation in land management must be a priority.
Image
Trump Administration Rescinds ‘Harm’ Definition, Defenders Prepares for Court
In a devastating blow to wildlife, the Trump administration today formally rescinded the regulatory definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act, eliminating the long-standing legal interpretation that habitat destruction that leads to death or injury of protected species is illegal.
Press Releases
Image
Biden To Reverse Two Harmful Trump Rules That Limited Endangered Species Act Protections
The Biden administration announced it is reversing two harmful Trump administration rules that undermine the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the bedrock law that protects our nation’s wildlife from extinction. Broadly, the two rules had altered the way critical habitat is designated.
Image
Critically Endangered North Atlantic Right Whale Population Drops to Estimated 336
Today, the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium announced that the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale’s population continued its decade-long decline, dropping from 366 in 2019 to 336 in 2020—an 8% decline.
Image
Former Georgia and Federal Officials Decry Proposed Okefenokee Mining Project
In a full-page letter published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution yesterday, a bipartisan group of eight former Georgia and federal officials, including two cabinet secretaries, spoke out against a proposed titanium mine on the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp.
Image
Biden Administration Will Not Appeal Court Decision to Halt Willow Arctic Drilling Project
The Biden administration decided not to appeal a court decision voiding the flawed Trump-era approvals and permits for ConocoPhillips’ Willow Master Development Plan. The court determined in August that the Interior Department violated the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act.
Image
Harmful Sage-Grouse Rider Dropped from Senate Interior Approps Bill For the First Time Since 2014
Following the release of the Senate Interior Appropriations bill, both House and Senate bills have excluded the rider preventing Endangered Species Act protections for the greater sage-grouse which has been included in bills since 2014.
jcovey@defenders.org
