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Defenders Slams SPEED Act as it Speeds Toward Habitat Destruction
Defenders of Wildlife condemns Rep. Bruce Westerman’s (R-AR) SPEED ACT, H.R. 4776 the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act, ahead of Thursday’s expected floor vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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ESA Amendments Act Poses a Historic Threat to America’s Wildlife
Defenders of Wildlife remains on high alert as it braces for the House Natural Resources Committee’s full markup of Rep. Bruce Westerman’s (R-AR) Endangered Species Amendments Act of 2025. More aptly labeled the Extinction Act, the bill seeks to eviscerate the Endangered Species Act, stripping away decades of crucial protections for America’s wildlife and their habitats.
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House Vote Scheduled on Ending Gray Wolf Protections, Undermining the Endangered Species Act
The House of Representatives is expected this Thursday to vote on ending gray wolf protections, prematurely delisting gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act before
Press Releases
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Border Communities Oppose Trump Visit, Fear Repeat of Racist Anti-Democratic Violence
President Trump will reportedly visit the Lower Rio Grande Valley this week to promote the border wall, in the middle of congressional action to impeach him for his role inciting insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week. Border communities rightly see his trip as an immediate threat to community safety and security.
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Politically-Motivated Manatee Harassment is ‘Beyond Cruel and Inhumane’
Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported they are opening an investigation after a manatee was discovered with severe scarring spelling “TRUMP” on its back in the Homosassa River in Citrus County, Florida. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed manatees as “threatened,” having been previously classified as “endangered” until 2017.
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Feds to Be Sued for Weakening Sea Turtle Protections
Conservation groups issued a formal notice today of their intent to sue the National Marine Fisheries Service for drastically weakening rules that prevent sea turtles from dying in shrimp trawl nets.
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Lawsuit: Stop Trump administration’s parting shot at national forests
A lawsuit filed today seeks to reverse the Trump administration’s elimination of critical safeguards that have protected national forests from unneeded, ill-conceived and destructive logging, road building, and utility right-of-way projects.
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Trump Administration Attempt to Sell Out the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Flops
Today’s lease sale for the coastal plain of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge continues the Trump administration’s destructive attack on our nation’s public lands and wildlife. Today, three entities were identified as the successful bidders on 11 tracts, yielding a paltry $7 million to the federal treasury because the state of Alaska receives half of the sale price of $14 million. The failed lease sale underscores a lack of interest in developing the Arctic refuge and sets up an incoming Biden administration to reverse course to permanently protect the refuge.
jcovey@defenders.org
