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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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Tribes, Conservation Groups Urge Veto on Anti-Bison Bills
A group of Montana tribes and conservation groups sent a letter to Governor Gianforte today, urging him to veto a pair of state bills that will undermine reintroduction efforts of wild bison to Montana.
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Defenders of Wildlife Statement on Chauvin Trial
Defenders of Wildlife’s President & CEO Jamie Rappaport Clark released a statement in reaction to a Minnesota jury finding former police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all three counts in the death of George Floyd.
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Federal Court Halts Proposed Rock Creek Mine in Montana’s Cabinet Mountains
The federal district court in Montana on Tuesday invalidated the federal government’s approval of the first phase of the Rock Creek Mine, a major copper and silver mine proposed beneath the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness in northwest Montana.
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Billy Frank Jr. Legacy Established in National Statutory Hall
This week Governor Jay Inslee signed HB 1372 into law, which would honor the late Billy Frank Jr. with a statue in National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C. Frank was an environmental and civil rights hero in Washington State.
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Conservation Groups Call on Congress to Fund Imperiled Species
146 organizations called on Congress today to fund specific programs administered by U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that conserve and recover species headed for extinction.
jcovey@defenders.org
