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Legal Intervention Aims to Protect North Atlantic Right Whales From Deadly Ship Strikes
Conservation groups today filed a motion to intervene to help fight a lawsuit aimed at overturning a seasonal speed rule protecting North Atlantic right whales from deadly vessel strikes. The groups want to defend the rule against a lawsuit brought by a New York vessel owner fined for violating seasonal speed limits. The suit alleges that NOAA Fisheries lacked the statutory authority to issue the rule.
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Final Rescission of Public Lands Rule Reverses Modern Land Management, Threatens Wildlife Habitat
The Bureau of Land Management today announced a decision to roll back the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, commonly referred to as the Public Lands Rule. The policy modernized how BLM manages our national public lands and represented the critical incorporation of ecological resilience into management alongside traditional resource extraction. The rule required science-based decision-making, conservation considerations within multiple land uses and a focus on sustaining public lands for the long-term benefit of wildlife and the American people.
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Trump Administration Cancels Critical Offshore Wind Projects and Increases Costs for Taxpayers
The Department of Interior this week announced that two offshore wind companies, Bluepoint Wind and Golden State Wind, have abandoned their developments. According to reports, the companies received some $900 million to walk away from the projects.
Press Releases
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Trump Administration Abandons Federal Process for Grizzly Restoration in North Cascades
The Trump administration today announced its decision to terminate the public process regarding re-introducing grizzly bears back into the North Cascades Ecosystem of Washington state. This decision was reported by U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary David Bernhardt despite public input and science, denying grizzlies access to their historic range.
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Environmental organizations spotlight inadequate oversight by FAA of SpaceX’s Boca Chica testing facility, call for an EIS
In a letter sent to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), environmental groups are calling on the agency to require a new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that fully details the impact of the SpaceX Boca Chica testing and launch site.
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Feds Agree to Decide on Endangered Species Protections for Wolverine by August 31
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be required to decide whether wolverines in the lower-48 states should be protected under the Endangered Species Act by Aug. 31, 2020, in accordance with a legal agreement filed in court today with conservation groups.
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Landmark Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Wildlife Corridors Passes the U.S. House of Representatives
The bipartisan Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act along with $300 million for wildlife crossings and provisions to support wildlife road crossings passed the House floor as part of H.R. 2 the Moving Forward Act stimulus package.
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House Votes to Give Military Control Over More than 800,000 Acres in Desert National Wildlife Refuge
An amendment to expand military testing and control of 800,000 acres of refuge land in Desert National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada was approved today.
jcovey@defenders.org
