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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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Court ruling lets AIDEA keep Arctic Refuge leases despite legal problems with the leasing program
Today the U.S. District Court in Alaska ruled that the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, or AIDEA, can hold onto its oil and gas
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Defenders Celebrates Historic Wildlife Management Reform in New Mexico
Defenders of Wildlife applauds New Mexico for its historic effort to expand the tools and authority needed to manage all state wildlife, and for renaming
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Defenders Raises Alarm on So-Called 'Pet and Livestock Protection Act'
Defenders of Wildlife is sounding the alarm over the intentionally misleadingly-named Pet and Livestock Protection Act of 2025, which aims to prematurely delist gray wolves
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Intervention Sought to Protect Endangered Right Whales from Deadly Vessel Strikes
Conservation groups have filed a motion to intervene as defendants on behalf of NOAA Fisheries in a case challenging the agency’s 2008 vessel speed rule
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Defenders Responds to Illegal Poaching of Gray Wolf in Oregon
Defenders of Wildlife is deeply concerned by the news regarding the illegal killing of a breeding gray wolf male near Sisters, Oregon. Gray wolves are
jcovey@defenders.org
