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Defenders Expands Legal Challenge to Trump Administration’s Assault on Endangered Species Act
Defenders of Wildlife today filed an amended complaint challenging the Trump administration’s escalating effort to dismantle longstanding protections for threatened and endangered wildlife under the Endangered Species Act.
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NPS Land Swaps and Visitor Plan Open the Door to Devastating Impacts at Cumberland Island
In advance of a public hearing on proposed land exchanges on Cumberland Island National Seashore, Defenders of Wildlife called on the National Park Service to remedy a host of management issues facing one of the largest undeveloped barrier islands on the East Coast.
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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.
Press Releases
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Defenders of Wildlife Encouraged by Proposed Rule to Strengthen Protections for Imperiled Species Affected by Climate Change
Today, the Biden administration proposed a new rule to significantly strengthen the federal government’s ability to protect threatened and endangered species in the face of
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More than 26,780 People Sign Defenders of Wildlife Petition to Protect Midwestern Wildlife Refuge from Industrial Threats
In a petition with more than 26,780 signatures, Defenders of Wildlife urged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to take swift action to protect
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Defenders of Wildlife Applauds Senator Ossoff, Army Corps Decision to Block Mine Threatening Okefenokee Swamp
Defenders of Wildlife applauded an announcement by the Army Corps of Engineers that it vacated the jurisdictional determination for a mining project threatening the Okefenokee Swamp in southern Georgia, following pressure from Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and the notification that the Corps had not fully consulted with or considered the wetland’s cultural and historical significance to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
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California Court Paves the Way for Protection of Imperiled Bumble Bees and Other Insects
California's Third District Court of Appeal ruled that the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) can protect invertebrates, including four species of imperiled native bumble bees that the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (Xerces), the Center for Food Safety (CFS), and Defenders of Wildlife (Defenders) petitioned the State of California to protect in 2018.
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Legal Agreement Will Protect Critical Habitat for Threatened Florida Manatee
In a legal agreement with the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife and Save the Manatee Club, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has committed to revise critical habitat for the Florida manatee by September 2024.
jcovey@defenders.org
