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manatee
St. Petersburg, Fl.

Florida Manatees to Receive Nearly 2 Million Acres of Revised Protected Habitat

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Monday proposed a revised critical habitat plan that would protect 1,904,191 acres of critical habitat for the Florida
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Red Knots and Horseshoe Crabs
CHARLESTON, SC

Defenders of Wildlife Statement on Dismissal of Challenge to Cape Romain Refuge Management

Defenders of Wildlife celebrates today the dismissal of a challenge by the state of South Carolina to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s authority to
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Baby Green Sea Turtles on the beach
Washington, DC

More Than 80 Conservation Groups Call on Members of Congress To Oppose New House Bill Targeting Endangered Species Act

More than 80 conservation groups representing millions of Americans are calling on members of Congress to oppose a new bill (H.R. 9533) targeting the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The “ESA Amendments Act of 2024,” which House Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) is proposing, would dramatically weaken the bedrock environmental law by decreasing protections for threatened and endangered species and rewriting key portions of it.

Press Releases

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Sage grouse
Washington, DC

Trump Administration Papers over Sage-Grouse Plans

Today, the Trump administration published supplemental environmental analyses as a band-aid to previously-issued environmental impact statements found deficient by a federal judge.
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Bay-Delta
BAKERSFIELD, Calif.

Trump Administration Finalizes Decision to Undermine ESA Protections for Bay Delta Fish

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation issued a Record of Decision that will finalize environmentally destructive water project operations for the Central Valley Project, including substantial increases in the amount of water that can be diverted from the San Francisco Bay Delta.
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Salmon
Salem, OR

Oregon Governor Kate Brown Says Restoring the Snake River Must be Part of Plan to Save Salmon and Orcas

Late last week, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown sent a letter to Washington Gov. Jay Inslee supporting the restoration of the Snake River, saying that removing the four federal dams on the lower portion of the waterway must be part of a comprehensive plan to save endangered salmon, steelhead and orcas.
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Jaguar

Greater Protections Proposed for Jaguars, Sharks at International Wildlife Convention

This week, representatives from 130 countries are gathered at the meeting of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP13) in Gandhinagar, India.
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Polar bears Arctic
Washington, DC

Oil and Polar Bears Don’t Mix: Trump Administration Asks Public to Review Peer-reviewed Polar Bear Study

On Tuesday, February 18, the Trump administration will open an unprecedented 60-day comment period asking the public to comment on a study authored by its own scientists at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) entitled “Seismic survey design and potential impacts to maternal polar bear dens.” The study is intended to support decision making on potential fossil fuel development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, though such research is not typically offered for public comment.
Senior Vice President, External Affairs
lsheehan@defenders.org
202-772-3244
Communications Director
mdewane@defenders.org
(202) 772-0217
Communications Specialist
jcovey@defenders.org
Communications Specialist
hhammer@defenders.org
(202) 772-0295
Communications Specialist
jpetrequin@defenders.org
(202) 772-0243