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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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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.
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IUCN: North Atlantic Right Whale Now “Critically Endangered”
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced today that it is changing the status of the North Atlantic right whale from “endangered” to “critically endangered” on its Red List of Threatened Species, recognizing that the species faces an extremely high risk of extinction. The IUCN Red List is the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of species.
jcovey@defenders.org
