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Desert tortoise - Mojave Desert - Red Rock Canyon
Washington, D.C.

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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wind farm
Washington, D.C

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.
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Laura Nunes
Washington, D.C.

Defenders’ Laura Nunes Named to Prestigious ESIIL Working Group

Defenders of Wildlife scientist Laura Nunes has been selected to join the Environmental Data Science Innovation & Impact Lab’s third cohort of working groups.

Press Releases

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Polar Bears
Anchorage

Bureau of Land Management Moves Forward with Massive Oil and Gas Project During Pandemic

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is moving ahead with public hearings on the Willow project – a massive oil and gas development being pushed by ConocoPhillips – in the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska.
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Gray bat
Catron County, New Mexico

Proposed Renewable Energy Wind Project in the Southwest Reaches New Milestone

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a Final Environment Impact Statement (FEIS) on April 10, 2020, for the proposed Borderlands Wind project along the
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Sage grouse
Washington, DC

Conservation Groups Urge Congress to Protect Greater Sage-grouse

In a letter addressed to top House and Senate appropriators, Defenders of Wildlife along with 79 other groups are asking for the removal of an appropriations rider leftover from previous years prohibiting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) from considering greater sage-grouse for protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
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Red knot flying

Lawsuit Filed to Protect Imperiled Gulf and Mississippi River Species from Bonnet Carré Spillway Impacts

Defenders of Wildlife and Healthy Gulf (formerly Gulf Restoration Network) filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of Mississippi against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Mississippi River Commission for violating the Endangered Species Act by failing to consult with federal wildlife agencies on the consequences of opening the Bonnet Carré Spillway on numerous endangered and threatened species.
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Tongass wolf
Juneau

Alexander Archipelago Wolves Need Urgent Help Following Record Killings in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest

Conservation groups today called on the U.S. Forest Service to take immediate steps to protect Alexander Archipelago wolves on Prince of Wales Island in the Tongass National Forest following word that 165 wolves – representing 97% of the most recent population estimate – were killed this past trapping season.
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
kirby@defenders.org
(202) 772-3268