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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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New Study Shows Federally Protected Lands Reduce Habitat Loss and Protect Endangered Species
Scientists at Defenders of Wildlife and Tufts University have discovered that habitat loss in the U.S. was double on private lands compared to federally protected lands.
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Federal Agencies Outline Management Options for the Lower Snake River
Today three federal agencies released a proposed management plan for federally-controlled dams in the Columbia River Basin.
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NOAA: Independent Review Shows Tool Used to Prevent Right Whale Entanglements Is “Appropriate, Valuable”
Today, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that an independent peer review of its “decision support tool”—developed to evaluate the effectiveness of various management measures in reducing entanglement-related mortalities of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales in the American lobster fishery—confirmed that it is an “appropriate and valuable tool to assess various mitigation measures in a common risk-reduction metric, and has proven useful in determining possible management actions with stakeholders.”
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Jaguars, Sharks Win Protections at International Migratory Wildlife Meeting
Every three years, delegates meet to review proposals for listing imperiled migratory wildlife and to provide international or regional collaboration for species’ conservation.
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Defenders of Wildlife Speaks Out Against Trump Administration’s Efforts to Undercut NEPA During Public Hearing and Rally in D.C.
On February 25, Former Defenders of Wildlife President and CEO Jamie Rappaport Clark will provide testimony at a public hearing on the White House Council
jcovey@defenders.org
