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Trump Administration Opens Door to Bear Baiting, Den Hunting in Alaska Preserves
The National Park Service finalized a regulation that abdicates the agency's responsibility to manage wildlife in Alaska's national preserves, deferring instead to state regulations. Defenders of Wildlife condemns the rule, which mirrors a 2020 regulation promulgated by the first Trump administration that was later withdrawn and replaced in 2024.
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BLM Prepares Illegal Move to Open Ouray National Wildlife Refuge to Oil & Gas, a Dangerous Precedent for Wildlife
Defenders of Wildlife is calling on BLM to withdrawal an unprecedented proposal to open Ouray National Wildlife Refuge in Utah to new oil and gas leasing.
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A Much-Needed Win for Wildlife: Senate Introduces Bill to Improve Endangered Species Act Implementation
Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Pete Rickets (R-NE) today introduced the Improving Species Recovery Act, an important bipartisan bill that would improve implementation of the Endangered Species Act.
Press Releases
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New Proposals Would Make It Tougher to Protect Endangered Species
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a new proposal today that would allow the government to deny critical habitat protections for endangered animals and plants in areas that would see greater economic benefits from being developed — a change that could open lands and waterways to more energy development and other activities.
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U.S. Forest Service Launches New Assault on Alaska’s Tongass Old-growth Forest
The U.S. Forest Service announced plans today for a massive timber sale that would destroy more than 5,100 acres of critical old-growth habitat in the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska.
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Judge Allows Conservation Groups to Defend Ventura County Wildlife Connectivity from Industry Legal Challenge
In a ruling this week, a judge formally granted permission to four conservation organizations to help defend Ventura County’s innovative wildlife connectivity ordinances—the first of their kind in California.
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Sea Otter Tax Fund Legislation Passes Legislature, Moves to Gov. Newsom for Signature
This week, Senate Bill (SB) 587, the California Sea Otter Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund, passed the state legislature and will now move to Governor Newsom’s desk for signature.
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Proposed rule cuts the public out of oil and gas leasing decisions for National Forests
On September 1, the administration will release its plan to make it easier for companies to drill for oil and gas on U.S. Forest Service lands. The proposed rule is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday.
jcovey@defenders.org
