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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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Lawsuit Calls Out Biden Administration for Allowing Oil Operators to Harm Southern Beaufort Sea Polar Bears
Defenders of Wildlife and partner groups sued the Biden administration today for issuing a regulation that allows oil and gas companies to harass Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears despite the likelihood of causing injury and death.
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Interior Department Announces New Incidental Take Permit Process for Eagles
Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it is seeking public input on approaches to improve the permitting of incidental take of bald
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Defenders of Wildlife Urges Action on California’s Clean Energy Goals
Recently, 55 environmental groups, including Defenders of Wildlife, sent a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), urging them
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Biden Administration to Protect Alaska’s Bristol Bay from Mining
The Biden administration today announced that it plans to restore protections for Alaska’s Bristol Bay. The Environmental Protection Agency filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for Alaska to reverse a Trump-era decision that had stripped environmental protections for the bay.
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New Legal Claims Challenge Feds’ Failure to Protect North Atlantic Right Whales From Deadly Fishing Gear Entanglement
The Center for Biological Diversity, Conservation Law Foundation and Defenders of Wildlife filed additional legal claims against the National Marine Fisheries Service today for failing to prevent critically endangered North Atlantic right whales from getting tangled up and killed in lobster gear.
jcovey@defenders.org
