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House to Take Up Bills Torching Wildlife Protections
A draft discussion bill headed for a hearing with the House Natural Resources Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries Subcommittee on Tuesday is poised to tear apart
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Attacks on Critically Endangered Whales Continue in Subcommittee Spending Bill
Defenders of Wildlife condemns the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies spending bill before the Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee
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New Bill Would Gut Marine Mammal Protections
Rep. Nicholas Begich (R-AK) introduced a draft bill today that would eviscerate the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the sole federal law protecting marine mammals in
More North Atlantic Right Whale Press Releases
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North Atlantic Right Whale Found Dead Off New Jersey Coast
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries officials announced today that a dead North Atlantic right whale has been sighted off the coast of Elberon, New Jersey. The whale has not yet been identified, though NOAA and the Marine Mammal Stranding Center are working to secure a necropsy site. Cause of death is unknown. This marks the first confirmed right whale death in U.S. waters in 2020.
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Trump Orders Cuts in Regulations that ‘Inhibit Economic Recovery'
President Trump signed an executive order on May 19, directing agencies to identify deregulatory actions to spur economic growth. The order directs agency administrators to
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New York Offshore Wind Alliance: Public Service Commission Gives NY An Earth Week to Celebrate
New York Offshore Wind Alliance: Public Service Commission Gives NY An Earth Week to Celebrate Authorizes NYSERDA To Solicit Nation’s Largest Offshore Wind Bids Following
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Court: Feds Failing to Protect North Atlantic Right Whales From Lobster Gear Entanglements
A federal judge ruled yesterday that the National Marine Fisheries Service’s authorization and management of the American lobster fishery violates the federal Endangered Species Act. The court held that the agency failed to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales and that its biological opinion on the fishery violated “straightforward” requirements of the Act, putting the whales at greater risk of entanglement.
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NOAA: Independent Review Shows Tool Used to Prevent Right Whale Entanglements Is “Appropriate, Valuable”
Today, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that an independent peer review of its “decision support tool”—developed to evaluate the effectiveness of various management measures in reducing entanglement-related mortalities of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales in the American lobster fishery—confirmed that it is an “appropriate and valuable tool to assess various mitigation measures in a common risk-reduction metric, and has proven useful in determining possible management actions with stakeholders.”
jcovey@defenders.org
