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Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle is on his way home after being released from a cold-stun rehab center.
New Orleans, LA

Defenders Celebrates U.S. Appeals Court Ruling to Protect Imperiled Sea Turtles from Drowning in Fishing Nets

A federal appeals court upheld the rule requiring shrimp trawling vessels to use turtle excluder devices so that sea turtles can avoid getting caught in nets.
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pale gray north atlantic right whale swimming in dark blue ocean with an entangled string wrapped around the top of its head and seen underneath it's lower body
Washington, DC

House Gambles with Survival for North Atlantic Right Whales in Latest Vote to Delay Protections

The House of Representatives voted to pass H.R. 9436, a bill that will delay conservation protections for critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.
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 Izembek National Wildlife Refuge - Izembek Volcanoe
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA

District Court Okays Bulldozing a Road to the Doorstep of Izembek Wilderness

A federal district court in Alaska today allowed construction to begin on a 2.8-mile road segment on KCC lands to connect to a 10.5-mile road within Izembek.

Press Releases

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Charles J. Sharp
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Trump Administration Advances Roadless Rule Repeal at the Expense of Wildlife, Clean Water and Public Will

The U.S. Department of Agriculture today released its proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement seeking to rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, a bedrock law that protects 45 million acres of national forests managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
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Running brown bear, Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA

Judge Vacates Land Exchange, Halts Road Through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge

A federal judge today vacated an illegal closed-door deal between the U.S. Department of the Interior and a for-profit Alaska Native corporation, King Cove Corp., that exchanged a 10.5-mile corridor of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness lands to enable a road connecting King Cove and Cold Bay.
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Ashley National Forest
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Defenders Strongly Opposes USDA Proposal to Dismantle Long-Standing Protections for National Forests

The United States Department of Agriculture today announced that the U.S. Forest Service has filed a proposed rule to fully rescind the national 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule — a bedrock conservation policy that has protected nearly 45 million acres of undeveloped backcountry forests for over two decades.
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Bull Trout
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Defenders Joins Conservationists In Blasting Federal Proposal to Bulldoze Forestlands

Conservation groups today called a plan by the Trump administration to rescind the U.S. Forest Service’s Roadless Area Conversation Rule an alarming threat to national forests that are overwhelmingly loved by Americans.
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big bear lake
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Defenders Joins Over 100 Conservation Groups Opposing Wilderness Rollbacks

The public was forced to navigate five separate comment processes across three federal agencies as the Department of the Interior launched a sweeping review of longstanding policies protecting millions of acres of America’s wildest public lands.
Senior Vice President, External Affairs
lsheehan@defenders.org
(202) 772-3244
Communications Director
mdewane@defenders.org
(202) 772-0217
Communications Specialist
jcovey@defenders.org
Communications Specialist
kirby@defenders.org
(202) 772-3268
Communications Specialist
estern@defenders.org
202-772-0243