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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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Groups Sue to Prevent Imperiled Sea Turtles From Drowning in Fishing Nets
Conservation groups filed a lawsuit today to prevent sea turtles from drowning when they get caught in shrimp trawl nets in the Gulf of Mexico and southeast Atlantic.
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Salmon Fishers Can Help Save Sea Otters
This weekend marked the beginning of the recreational salmon season in the ocean south of San Francisco, and anglers will flock to harbors along the central California coast to launch their boats and try their luck. This increased fishing activity brings concerns about sea otter safety as more boaters venture into waters where hard-to-spot sea otters forage for food.
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Defenders Applauds Biden’s American Jobs Plan
Today in Pittsburgh, President Biden announced his American Jobs Plan, which will speed up the transition to clean energy, repeal subsidies and foreign tax credits or the fossil fuel industry and tackle social and racial inequities in energy development.
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Biden Administration to Expand Offshore Wind
The Biden administration announced plans today for a significant expansion of the nation’s offshore wind efforts. Officials announced a goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by the end of the decade, offsetting fossil fuels and creating clean energy jobs.
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Lawsuit Launched Over Federal Project Threatening Desert Tortoises, Other Imperiled Species in California Deserts
Environmental groups filed a formal notice today of their intent to sue the Interior Department, U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for authorizing activities in the California Desert Conservation Area that are driving desert tortoises and other threatened and endangered species toward extinction.
jcovey@defenders.org
