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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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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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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.
Press Releases
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Defenders Applauds Biden Administration’s Move to Protect Roadless Areas in Tongass National Forest
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that next week it will propose reinstating the national Roadless Area Conservation Rule in the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska. The move would restrict development on roughly 9.3 million acres in North America’s largest temperate rainforest.
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Wildlife Conservation and Climate Resiliency Highlighted as House Passes Build Back Better
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the Build Back Better Act which, at $1.75 trillion, has many key provisions for the protection of endangered species, climate mitigation and adaptation and forest health. The bill must next pass Senate, where it faces a razor-thin margin.
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Court Reinstates Gulf of Maine Lobstering Restriction to Protect Endangered Right Whales
The First Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday granted an emergency motion to reinstate a seasonal prohibition on lobster fishing with buoy lines in an area roughly 30 nautical miles off the coast of Maine.
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More Than 1,000 Manatees Have Died in 2021
Today, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced that 1,003 manatees have died since the start of 2021.
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Biden Signs Infrastructure Bill Into Law with Billions for Wildlife Habitat and Climate Resiliency
Today, President Biden signed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law. The law will make significant investments in wildlife habitat and green infrastructure over the next decade. It is one of the largest infrastructure investments in the nation’s history and garnered bipartisan support in the House and Senate.
jcovey@defenders.org
