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Defenders of Wildlife Applauds Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for Tightening Protections for Listed Species
Defenders of Wildlife welcomes today’s action by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to end open permitting for the capture of ESA-threatened marine species in Florida waters for public display and exhibition purposes.
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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.
Press Releases
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Announces Endangered Species Listing of Sierra Nevada Fisher in California
Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced the Southern Sierra Nevada distinct population of fisher (Pekania pennanti) will be listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA).
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Trump Administration Decision Spells Disaster for Endangered Black-footed Ferret Recovery
Today, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) finalized an amendment to the Thunder Basin National Grassland management plan that eliminates black-footed ferret recovery and enables widespread destruction of its habitat by lifting restrictions on poisoning and shooting of black-tailed prairie dogs.
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Department of the Interior Announces Sweeping Road Map for Bison Conservation
Last week, the Department of the Interior (DOI) announced the release of the Bison Conservation Initiative (BCI), a comprehensive plan encouraging cooperation between Interior bureaus and their partners toward conserving American bison. The 10-year plan will apply to all 19 Interior Department herds which collectively contain 11,000 of the 21,000 bison managed as wildlife across the United States.
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Defenders of Wildlife Signals Lawsuit Over U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Failure to Protect Species in Cape Romain
Today, Defenders of Wildlife sent a letter notifying the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) that FWS is violating several foundational environmental laws by authorizing the ongoing harvest of thousands of horseshoe crabs in Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge.
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Conservation and Fishing Organizations win Timely Court Injunction to Protect Endangered San Francisco Bay-Delta Fish
Honorable Judge Dale Drozd, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, issued a preliminary injunction yesterday to stop the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BLM) from proceeding with water operations that would harm imperiled fish in the San Francisco Bay-Delta.
jcovey@defenders.org
