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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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Department of Defense Legislation Proposes 1.1 Million Acre Takeover of National Wildlife Refuge for Military Training
The Washington Post reported today that the Department of Defense has developed legislation that would expand military control and use of more than two-thirds of Desert National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada for military training purposes.
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New Mexico State Game Commission Votes to Rejoin Wolf Recovery Program
The New Mexico State Game Commission voted today to rejoin the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Program.
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Conservation Groups Challenge Repeal of Clean Water Act Protections in Federal Court
Conservation groups today challenged in court the administration’s effort to strip away crucial clean water protections from rivers, lakes, streams and other waters that feed drinking-water sources for 200 million Americans and 32 million people in the South, or seven out of ten Southerners.
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Statement on Deaths of Florida Panthers Suffering from Mystery Illness
Today, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) announced that the agency has confirmed neurological damage in one panther and one bobcat through necropsy.
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Trump Administration Guts Endangered Species Act Protections for San Francisco Bay-Delta Fish
Today, USFWS and NMFS released new Endangered Species Act biological opinions for endangered salmon and other fish species in the San Francisco Bay-Delta.
jcovey@defenders.org
