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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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Wildlife Advocates Applaud Restart of Process to Return Grizzly Bears to North Cascades
Conservation groups and other wildlife advocates applaud the Biden administration’s announcement today that it is restarting the process required to return grizzly bears to the North Cascades Ecosystem (NCE) - a large network of mostly protected public lands that spans from northwest Washington State into British Columbia and includes North Cascades National Park.
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Defenders of Wildlife Statement on the 2022 Election Results
Jamie Rappaport Clark, president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife, issued the following statement in response to the preliminary results from yesterday's midterm election:
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Emergency Petition Seeks to Shield Right Whale Moms, Calves From Ship Strikes
Defenders of Wildlife and partner conservation groups filed an emergency rulemaking petition with NOAA Fisheries today 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.
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Conservation Groups Prompt Federal Review of San Joaquin River Exchange Contract for First Time in 54 Years
Defenders of Wildlife applauded a decision by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to request a renegotiation of a decades-old use contract for the San Joaquin River that could spark stronger protection for wildlife and drought management.
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New Population Estimate Illustrates the North Atlantic Right Whales’ Downward Trend
Today, the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium announced that the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale’s population – now at 340, down from 348 – continues its decade-long decline. The species’ population has plummeted by 30% in the last decade, down from 481 in 2011. The latest estimate represents the whale’s lowest population estimate in 20 years.
jcovey@defenders.org
