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Trump Administration Advances Roadless Rule Repeal at the Expense of Wildlife, Clean Water and Public Will
The U.S. Department of Agriculture today released its proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement seeking to rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, a bedrock law that protects 45 million acres of national forests managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
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Judge Vacates Land Exchange, Halts Road Through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge
A federal judge today vacated an illegal closed-door deal between the U.S. Department of the Interior and a for-profit Alaska Native corporation, King Cove Corp., that exchanged a 10.5-mile corridor of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness lands to enable a road connecting King Cove and Cold Bay.
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Defenders Strongly Opposes USDA Proposal to Dismantle Long-Standing Protections for National Forests
The United States Department of Agriculture today announced that the U.S. Forest Service has filed a proposed rule to fully rescind the national 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule — a bedrock conservation policy that has protected nearly 45 million acres of undeveloped backcountry forests for over two decades.
Press Releases
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Biden Signs Infrastructure Bill Into Law with Billions for Wildlife Habitat and Climate Resiliency
Today, President Biden signed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law. The law will make significant investments in wildlife habitat and green infrastructure over the next decade. It is one of the largest infrastructure investments in the nation’s history and garnered bipartisan support in the House and Senate.
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Withdraws Flawed Red Wolf Rule
This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced they would withdraw a 2018 proposed rule that would have shrunk the North Carolina-based Red Wolf recovery area (NC NEP) by 90 percent, severely hampering recovery efforts.
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Federal Court Hears Arguments for Reinstating Federal Gray Wolf Protections
Defenders of Wildlife and several conservation groups, represented by Earthjustice, argued in court that gray wolves in the Lower 48 states should regain federal Endangered Species Act protections. The hearing took place today in the Northern District Court of California, with Senior U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White presiding.
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Court Rejects Federal Attempt to Sink Right Whale Ship Strike Lawsuit
A federal court Wednesday rejected the Biden administration's effort to dismiss a lawsuit aimed at protecting critically endangered right whales from being run over and killed by ships and boats in U.S. waters.
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District Court Judge to Hear Arguments in Lawsuit to Relist Lower 48 Gray Wolf
Defenders of Wildlife, represented by Earthjustice, will present oral arguments Friday in U.S. District Court in a case that will decide whether federal Endangered Species Act protection is restored to gray wolves across much of the country.
jcovey@defenders.org
