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Defenders Celebrates U.S. Appeals Court Ruling to Protect Imperiled Sea Turtles from Drowning in Fishing Nets
A federal appeals court upheld the rule requiring shrimp trawling vessels to use turtle excluder devices so that sea turtles can avoid getting caught in nets.
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House Gambles with Survival for North Atlantic Right Whales in Latest Vote to Delay Protections
The House of Representatives voted to pass H.R. 9436, a bill that will delay conservation protections for critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.
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District Court Okays Bulldozing a Road to the Doorstep of Izembek Wilderness
A federal district court in Alaska today allowed construction to begin on a 2.8-mile road segment on KCC lands to connect to a 10.5-mile road within Izembek.
Press Releases
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Five Ways to Make Every Vote Count for Wildlife and Us
It's the day after the election and as the votes are tallied—perhaps for days ahead—Americans continue to face increasingly heated rhetoric, political polarization, COVID-19-related anxiety, protests against racism in our society and a growing concern for personal and public safety. The stakes are high and pressure even higher.
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Right Whale Consortium: Only 356 North Atlantic Right Whales Survive
An already-dire situation became dramatically more alarming Monday, as the federal agency responsible for protecting the North Atlantic right whale substantially reduced its past population estimates for this critically endangered species. Although the National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) originally estimated that there were 412 right whales alive as of January 2018, it has now reduced that number to 383 based on new scientific analysis of an unprecedented number of right whale deaths. Even more alarmingly, it announced an estimate of only 366 right whales alive as of January 2019.
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Members of Congress Urge Negotiators to Keep Sage-Grouse Rider out of FY21 Bill
Congress has continuously passed annual appropriations riders blocking FWS from carrying out its responsibilities under the ESA to assure the viability of the greater sage-grouse since 2014. If the rider is included in this year’s final language, it would mean FWS would not be able to act on protecting the grouse until October 2021.
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Strips Federal Protections from Gray Wolves
Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced its final plan to delist the gray wolf from federal Endangered Species Act protections in the Lower
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McEachin Letter Urges FWS to Take Action to Save Critically Endangered American Red Wolf
Congressman A. Donald McEachin (VA-04) today announced his letter to U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Aurelia Skipwith, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Regional Director Leopoldo Miranda urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to immediately take the action necessary to conserve the wild population of the critically endangered American Red Wolf.
jcovey@defenders.org
