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BLM Moves to Undercut Its Planning Framework and Most Important Conservation Tool
BLM announced a proposed rule to dramatically weaken the framework around land use planning and erode one of the agency's primary tools for conservation.
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Following Historic Elections, Environmental & Conservation Groups Urge Senate to Reject Lame-Duck Permitting Deal
Ahead of Monday’s scheduled cloture vote on the motion to proceed to debate Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (S. 5653).
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Lawsuit Launched to Compel Critical Habitat for Florida, Antillean Manatees
Defenders of Wildlife and CBD notified the FWS on their intent to sue for failing to finalize critical habitat protections for Florida and Antillean manatees.
Press Releases
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Critically Endangered North Atlantic Right Whale Population Drops to Estimated 336
Today, the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium announced that the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale’s population continued its decade-long decline, dropping from 366 in 2019 to 336 in 2020—an 8% decline.
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Former Georgia and Federal Officials Decry Proposed Okefenokee Mining Project
In a full-page letter published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution yesterday, a bipartisan group of eight former Georgia and federal officials, including two cabinet secretaries, spoke out against a proposed titanium mine on the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp.
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Biden Administration Will Not Appeal Court Decision to Halt Willow Arctic Drilling Project
The Biden administration decided not to appeal a court decision voiding the flawed Trump-era approvals and permits for ConocoPhillips’ Willow Master Development Plan. The court determined in August that the Interior Department violated the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act.
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Harmful Sage-Grouse Rider Dropped from Senate Interior Approps Bill For the First Time Since 2014
Following the release of the Senate Interior Appropriations bill, both House and Senate bills have excluded the rider preventing Endangered Species Act protections for the greater sage-grouse which has been included in bills since 2014.
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Court Ruling: Federal Government Must Address Poaching in Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Plan
In response to a lawsuit by conservation groups, a judge has ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) must add specific actions to address the poaching of Mexican gray wolves in their plan for the species’ recovery.
jcovey@defenders.org
