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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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U.S. House Committee Passes Additional $2 Million for Right Whale Research
The U.S. House Committee on Appropriations passed the Fiscal Year 2021 Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) bill out of committee with an additional $2 million toward protecting the imperiled North Atlantic right whale. The news was welcomed by scientists and environmental groups—including Defenders of Wildlife—who have advocated for greater federal investment to protect the right whale, of which fewer than 400 remain today.
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More Than 30 Groups Organize to Save Okefenokee Swamp
More than 30 national, state, and local organizations have joined forces in the fight to protect the Okefenokee Swamp. The new coalition, known as the
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Three More Mexican Gray Wolves Killed
Two of the Mexican gray wolf deaths are now under investigation by wildlife officials, as reported last month.
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Report on Expert Opinion Confirms Southern Sea Otter Remains Threatened with Extinction and in Need of Full Protection
Today, Friends of the Sea Otter (FSO) released the report, Roadmap: Recovery of the Southern Sea Otter.
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In a Win for Wildlife, Appropriations Committee Passes Nonlethal Funding
The House Appropriations Committee marked up and passed language out of committee today that would secure critical funding for reducing human-wildlife conflicts in the fiscal year 2021 appropriations package.
jcovey@defenders.org
