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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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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.
Press Releases
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Defenders of Wildlife Launches New Campaign to Expand the National Wildlife Refuge System
To address the biodiversity and climate crises and to promote more equitable access to the outdoors, Defenders of Wildlife today announced a new campaign to expand the National Wildlife Refuge System – the only federal lands system dedicated to the protection of wildlife.
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Conservation Groups File to Pause Transmission Line Construction to Protect Wildlife Refuge
Today, four conservation groups including Defenders of Wildlife, filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin to temporarily halt construction of a new high-voltage transmission line that would threaten the protected Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge and Wisconsin’s Driftless Area.
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Biden Administration Restores Protections for Three National Monuments
Today, the Biden administration signed three proclamations restoring protections for Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monuments.
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Defenders of Wildlife Intervenes in Maine Lawsuit in Order to Protect Right Whales
Today, Defenders of Wildlife, along with the Conservation Law Foundation and Center for Biological Diversity, filed to intervene in a case filed by the Maine Lobstering Union (MLU) in the District of Maine on September 27, 2021.
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New Assessment of Polar Bear Populations Underway as Climate Change Worsens
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced that it will conduct a five-year review of polar bear populations. Polar bears are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act, which requires FWS to review the status of the species periodically. The most recent review was conducted in 2017.
jcovey@defenders.org
