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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 of Wildlife Opposes Congressional Attacks Seeking to Remove Lesser-Prairie Chicken and Northern Long-Eared Bat Protections
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries held a second hearing in as many months on bills sponsored by pro-extinction members attacking the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
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Washington Wolf Population Expands Despite High Mortality
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced that the state’s endangered gray wolf population has increased by 5% after they found 216 wolves during their annual count. It also announced the formation of the state’s first reestablished wolf pack in the South Cascades.
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Limits on Horseshoe Crab Harvest Protect Threatened Shorebirds
Yesterday, the Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of Defenders of Wildlife and the Coastal Conservation League, obtained a major win for threatened red knots just as they come to South Carolina to feed on newly spawned horseshoe crab eggs.
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Federal Judge Allows Construction to Proceed in ConocoPhillips’ Willow Project in Alaska
A federal judge today ruled in favor of oil giant ConocoPhillips by denying a motion for preliminary injunction brought by Defenders of Wildlife (represented by Earthjustice) and other environmental organizations as part of a lawsuit challenging the Willow project in Alaska’s Western Arctic.
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New Agency Public Lands Rule Addresses Sustainability and Climate Change
Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the federal agency that manages one in 10 acres of land in the U.S., issued a draft rule intended to modernize the agency’s tools and strategies for managing these vast lands.
jcovey@defenders.org
