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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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Deb Haaland Confirmed as Interior Secretary in Historic Vote
The Senate today voted to confirm Rep. Deb Haaland as President Joe Biden's secretary of the Department of the Interior, making her the first Native American Cabinet secretary in U.S. history.
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High Manatee Death Rate Sounds Alarm on Biodiversity Loss
More than 400 Florida manatees have died since the start of 2021, fueling concern for the iconic and federally threatened species' future.
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New Solar Roadmap Shows How Long Island Can Produce More Electricity Than the Region Uses Each Year
The Long Island Solar Roadmap (the Roadmap), a new report and i nteractive online map from The Nature Conservancy and Defenders of Wildlife, demonstrates how
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Lesser Prairie-Chicken Under Threat Due to Continual Habitat Loss
Defenders of Wildlife recently released a white paper detailing habitat loss for the lesser prairie-chicken, a bird that was listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as threatened in 2014 but was stripped of this protection by a federal court in 2015. The
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Chesapeake Bay Restoration, Conservation to Benefit from New Approach to Data Mapping
Defenders of Wildlife and Chesapeake Conservancy have made a dataset available for the first time that will benefit the restoration and conservation of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and will have implications far beyond.
jcovey@defenders.org
