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Federal court rules Forest Service unlawfully relied on flawed analysis to create Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan
In a major victory for the communities and wildlife that depend on North Carolina’s Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests, the U.S. District Court for the
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Defenders Slams Unlawful God Squad Vote to Strip Endangered Species Act Protection from Wildlife in the Gulf
Defenders of Wildlife strongly opposes today’s vote by the Endangered Species Committee, or God Squad, to condemn species to extinction in the name of a fictitious “national security emergency.”
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Court Victory for Florida Wetlands Protection
The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled today that permits to build in wetlands should stay in the hands of
Press Releases
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Biden Administration Restores Roadless Area Protections to Tongass National Forest
Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reinstated the national Roadless Area Conservation Rule in the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska. The move restricts development on roughly 9.3 million acres in North America’s largest temperate rainforest.
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Vessel Strikes to Blame for Series of Whale Deaths?
On a cold winter beach in New Jersey, onlookers huddled around a 30-foot dead humpback whale lying on the sand. This was one of more than a dozen whales that have washed up on beaches along the U.S. East Coast since the beginning of December 2022. Five of these whales washed up in New Jersey, two in New York and others on the coasts of states from Maine to Florida. A total of 178 humpback whales have washed up along East Coast beaches since 2016, leading the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to declare an “unusual mortality event.” An investigation is underway.
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Biden Administration Sinks Emergency Petition to Shield Right Whale Moms, Calves From Vessel Strikes
NOAA Fisheries today denied an emergency petition that sought to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales from being struck and killed by vessels in their calving grounds off the coast of the southeast United States. The species is down to about 70 reproductive females.
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Defenders Urges Georgia to Reject Okefenokee Mining Permits as Comment Period Opens
Today, Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division opened a 60-day comment period on Twin Pines Minerals’ application to mine near the Okefenokee Swamp.
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Right Whale Calves Bring Hope for the Species, but They Face an Uncertain Future
The birth of 11 North Atlantic right whale calves this breeding season so far is an encouraging sign for one of the most endangered whale species in the world. However, this time of year is one of the whales' most vulnerable, as ship strikes account for many calf deaths.
jcovey@defenders.org
