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Defenders Calls on Service to Pull Out from Habitat-Degrading Land Swap
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently outlined its proposed land deal with SpaceX that would divest hundreds of acres across two national wildlife refuges
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Trump Administration Announces First Step in Rolling Back Rule Protecting Whales
The Trump administration today took the first official step in rolling back a 2008 regulation vital to protecting critically endangered North Atlantic right whales from
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Ocelot Conservation Day Returns to the RGV
On March 7, the annual celebration of Texas’ beloved native cat, Ocelot Conservation Day, returns to the Rio Grande Valley. Now in its 29th year
Press Releases
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Feds Sued to Force Them to Protect Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales From Vessel Strikes
Conservation groups sued the National Marine Fisheries Service today for failing to respond to two rulemaking petitions to protect critically endangered right whales from being run over and killed by ships and boats in U.S. waters. The groups are calling for more speed limits to reduce the number of vessel strikes.
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Congress Introduces Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2021
The Roadless Area Conservation Rule was adopted by the U.S. Forest Service on January 12, 2001 to conserve wildlands, watersheds and wildlife habitat within national forest lands by preventing development within areas that had not been touched by road building and logging. Protecting nearly 60 million acres of unroaded areas within the national forest system, the rule is one of America’s most important conservation achievements.
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Eleventh Hour Rule to Further Weaken Laws to Protect Endangered Species
The Trump administration proposed an eleventh-hour rule yesterday that would significantly diminish the strength of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by allowing federal regulators to ignore new information about the impacts of U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plans governing actions that have the potential to harm ESA-listed species, such as logging, roadbuilding, oil and gas leasing and other habitat-disturbing activities.
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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.
jcovey@defenders.org
