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Legal Intervention Aims to Protect North Atlantic Right Whales From Deadly Ship Strikes
Conservation groups today filed a motion to intervene to help fight a lawsuit aimed at overturning a seasonal speed rule protecting North Atlantic right whales from deadly vessel strikes. The groups want to defend the rule against a lawsuit brought by a New York vessel owner fined for violating seasonal speed limits. The suit alleges that NOAA Fisheries lacked the statutory authority to issue the rule.
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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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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.
Press Releases
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Defenders of Wildlife Attends International Workshop on Jaguar Conservation
The Plurinational government of Bolivia last week hosted the First International workshop to combat the illegal trade of jaguars. Participants included Interpol, UNODC, CITES, various government representatives of jaguar range states and conservation groups, including Defenders of Wildlife.
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National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Extend Public Comment Period for North Cascades Grizzly Environmental Impact Statement
The National Park Service (NPS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) today announced the reopening of the public comment period for the draft North Cascades Grizzly Bear Restoration Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) regarding restoring grizzly bears to their historic range in the North Cascades Ecosystem. The 90-day extension begins Friday and will close on October 24, 2019.
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Trump Administration Signs New Deal for Disastrous Road through Izembek Refuge
Less than four months after the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska struck down the Trump administration’s agreement to trade away internationally recognized, wilderness wetlands in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge to a private corporation, the Interior Department has reportedly signed another land swap deal to facilitate road construction through the reserve.
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Report: Rescinding Utah Roadless Rule Would Harm Wildlife, Ecosystems
A report released today by Defenders of Wildlife documents the exceptional wildlife values of Utah’s national forest roadless areas and illustrates how the state’s proposed
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Lawsuit Launched to Protect Imperiled Dunes Sagebrush Lizard in Texas, New Mexico
Conservation groups filed a notice today of their intent to sue the Trump administration for failing to protect the severely imperiled dunes sagebrush lizard under the Endangered Species Act.
jcovey@defenders.org
