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Administration Continues Assault on National Forests, Moves to Gut Rule Managing Off-Road Vehicles
The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced its intention to revise the Travel Management Rule governing motorized vehicle use on almost 200 million acres of federal lands.
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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.
Press Releases
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Emergency Petition Seeks to Protect Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales From Fishing Gear
Conservation and wildlife-protection groups today filed an emergency rulemaking petition to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales from becoming entangled in commercial fishing gear.
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Ill-Conceived Change to Thunder Basin National Grassland Management Plan Quashes Hope for Successful Black-Footed Ferret Recovery
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) released a record of decision today on a management plan amendment for Thunder Basin National Grassland in Wyoming, finalizing a rollback of crucial protections for prairie dogs at the site. The end of these protections is a fatal blow to the prospective reintroduction of critically endangered black-footed ferrets to Thunder Basin, which has been managed as a future reintroduction site since 1988.
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International Conferences Canceled, Leaving Species with Less Protections
As with many events worldwide in 2020, the conferences that create stronger international wildlife policies have been canceled too. These cancelations mean that imperiled wildlife will have to wait another year for new recommendations, measures, and decisions when a million species are already under threat of extinction and have yet to receive protection.
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Groups Praise Army Corps Denial of Pebble Mine Permit, Call for Lasting Protections
Groups advocating for the protection of Bristol Bay waterways, salmon, and communities applaud the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decision today to deny a Clean Water Act permit for the proposed Pebble mine.
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Prancing in the Moonlight: Photos Capture Colorado Wolves Playing at Night
Two gray wolves were captured on film as they played last month in Northwest Colorado, the first documentation in several months of Colorado’s first wolf pack in more than 75 years. These rare images were captured by a trail camera set up by Defenders of Wildlife in Moffat County.
jcovey@defenders.org
