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NPS Land Swaps and Visitor Plan Open the Door to Devastating Impacts at Cumberland Island
In advance of a public hearing on proposed land exchanges on Cumberland Island National Seashore, Defenders of Wildlife called on the National Park Service to remedy a host of management issues facing one of the largest undeveloped barrier islands on the East Coast.
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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.
Press Releases
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Rare Red Wolves Released in North Carolina after Federal Court Ruling
Red wolf captive breeding facilities today announced the release of four rare Red Wolves into eastern North Carolina after conservation groups won a federal court ruling in January that required the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to prepare a plan to release captive Red Wolves into the wild to avoid irreversible harm to the highly endangered population during ongoing litigation.
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Court Orders Halt to Blood Harvest of Horseshoe Crabs in Cape Romain
A federal judge has blocked a contractor for Charles River Laboratories from harvesting horseshoe crabs for their blood from Cape Roman National Wildlife Refuge until a lawsuit seeking to require the practice be conducted sustainably has been decided.
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Biden Administration Approves First Major Offshore Wind Project
The U.S. Interior Department issued its Final Record of Decision for Vineyard Wind, the nation’s first utility-scale commercial offshore wind energy project. After years of
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Biden Administration to Restart Review of Land Uses for Greater Sage-Grouse
The Biden administration announced that it will take another look at the greater sage grouse conservation plans and the process (started in the Obama administration
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Groups File Petition to Save the Gulf of Mexico Whale from Ship Strikes
Defenders of Wildlife and partners filed a petition today with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) to establish a year-round mandatory 10-knot speed limit and other vessel-related regulations within the core habitat of the Gulf of Mexico whale, south of the Florida panhandle.
jcovey@defenders.org
