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Trump Administration Opens Door to Bear Baiting, Den Hunting in Alaska Preserves
The National Park Service finalized a regulation that abdicates the agency's responsibility to manage wildlife in Alaska's national preserves, deferring instead to state regulations. Defenders of Wildlife condemns the rule, which mirrors a 2020 regulation promulgated by the first Trump administration that was later withdrawn and replaced in 2024.
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BLM Prepares Illegal Move to Open Ouray National Wildlife Refuge to Oil & Gas, a Dangerous Precedent for Wildlife
Defenders of Wildlife is calling on BLM to withdrawal an unprecedented proposal to open Ouray National Wildlife Refuge in Utah to new oil and gas leasing.
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A Much-Needed Win for Wildlife: Senate Introduces Bill to Improve Endangered Species Act Implementation
Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Pete Rickets (R-NE) today introduced the Improving Species Recovery Act, an important bipartisan bill that would improve implementation of the Endangered Species Act.
Press Releases
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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.
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Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration’s $7.2 Billion Transfer for Border Wall Construction
Conservation groups today sued the Trump administration for taking $7.2 billion from the Department of Defense for border wall construction without congressional approval. The planned barriers will wall off all remaining jaguar corridors along the U.S.-Mexico border.
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New Rio Grande National Forest Management Plan is Bad News for Wildlife, Wildlands and Waters
Today, the U.S. Forest Service released its final revised land management plan for the Rio Grande National Forest, located in south-central Colorado. Hundreds of local community members and citizens throughout the country had urged the Forest Service to include strong safeguards for wildlife and habitat, special designations to protect wildlife corridors, and recommendations for wilderness areas and wild and scenic rivers.
jcovey@defenders.org
