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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.
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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.
Press Releases
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Release of Highly Endangered Red Wolves into Wild Gives Hope to Renewed Conservation
Following a successful legal battle, conservation groups hope the recent release of nine highly endangered Red Wolves into the wild is the first of many steps by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service needed to save the world’s rarest canids that now number as few as 15 known animals in the wild.
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Wash. Department of Fish and Wildlife Proposing Lenient Wolf Killing Rules
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is currently accepting public comment on proposed rule changes to address how the state handles gray wolf-livestock conflict deterrence.
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Mexican Gray Wolf Population Up By 5 Percent
Wildlife officials released the annual Mexican gray wolf population data today. There are now more Mexican gray wolves roaming the southwestern U.S. than at any time since the federal government started to reintroduce the endangered species.
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President’s Budget Proposes the Highest Funding Levels Ever for Wildlife Refuges
President Biden’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year includes significant funding increases for wildlife protection, landscape conservation and many other critical issues that Defenders of Wildlife has worked to support amidst the worsening extinction crisis.
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New Report: SC Horseshoe Crab’s Sharp Decline Can—and Must—Be Reversed
Defenders of Wildlife published a new in-depth report on the decline of horseshoe crabs in South Carolina, urging the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) to take concrete steps to intervene.
jcovey@defenders.org
