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Defenders Slams Lease Sale in Arctic Refuge
The Bureau of Land Management today opened nine bids on five tracts regarding an oil and gas lease sale on the Coastal Plain of the
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President Trump Rescinds Long Standing Executive Orders Designed to Conserve Wildlife and Federal Lands from Unmanaged Motorized Recreation
President Trump last Friday issued an Executive Order rescinding EOs 11644 and 11989 which guide the management of ATVs, dirt bikes, snowmobiles, jet skis and other off-road motorized vehicles on federal lands. President Trump also ordered federal agencies to rescind or revise regulations that implement the prior EOs.
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House Interior Bill Attacks Crucial Protections for Imperiled Wildlife and Public Lands
Defenders of Wildlife today slammed the House Appropriations Committee’s proposed Interior and Environment spending bill for Fiscal Year 2027, which includes numerous damaging policy riders intended to weaken the Endangered Species Act and undermine protections for individual species.
Press Releases
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House Votes to Give Military Control Over More than 800,000 Acres in Desert National Wildlife Refuge
An amendment to expand military testing and control of 800,000 acres of refuge land in Desert National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada was approved today.
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New Research Details Economic Benefits of Sea Otters
A new study published in Science this month describes a predictive model that assesses the economic and ecological benefits of healthy sea otter populations.
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New Climate Proposal Protects Lands and Species
Today, the U.S. House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis released its blueprint for congressional action to address the climate crisis.
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North Atlantic Right Whale Found Dead Off New Jersey Coast
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries officials announced today that a dead North Atlantic right whale has been sighted off the coast of Elberon, New Jersey. The whale has not yet been identified, though NOAA and the Marine Mammal Stranding Center are working to secure a necropsy site. Cause of death is unknown. This marks the first confirmed right whale death in U.S. waters in 2020.
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Bureau of Land Management Continues Drumbeat of Drilling in Alaska
Today, the Bureau of Land Management released the pre-publication Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for a revised Integrated Activity Plan for the 22 million acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (Reserve), located in the state’s Western Arctic region. The final plan undermines protections for the spectacular wildlife values in the Reserve, allowing new leasing, exploration and development in critical polar bear habitat and other important wildlife areas.
jcovey@defenders.org
