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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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Defenders and Allies Call on Biden Administration for Overdue Right Whale Protections
Conservation groups have asked a federal court on Feb. 13 to lift a stay and allow paused litigation to proceed, in pursuit of a deadline
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Draft Mining Permits Spell Danger for Okefenokee Refuge
A damaging strip-mining plan threatening the country’s last intact freshwater ecosystem has moved one step closer to reality. On Feb. 9, the Georgia Environmental Protection
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Defenders Decries U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Inaction to List Gray Wolves
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced it will not relist gray wolves of the Northern Rocky Mountain population to the Endangered Species Act.
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Logging project in Nantahala National Forest violates federal law, new lawsuit alleges
On Wednesday, a coalition of conservation groups filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service, alleging the agency’s plans to log a sensitive area
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Young female endangered right whale found dead on Martha’s Vineyard beach
A North Atlantic right whale was found dead on a Martha’s Vineyard beach off the coast of Massachusetts on Sunday, Jan. 28. This juvenile female
jcovey@defenders.org
