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swimming manta rays
Fort Myers, FL

Defenders of Wildlife Applauds Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for Tightening Protections for Listed Species

Defenders of Wildlife welcomes today’s action by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to end open permitting for the capture of ESA-threatened marine species in Florida waters for public display and exhibition purposes.
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NARW
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Legal Intervention Aims to Protect North Atlantic Right Whales From Deadly Ship Strikes

Conservation groups today filed a motion to intervene to help fight a lawsuit aimed at overturning a seasonal speed rule protecting North Atlantic right whales from deadly vessel strikes. The groups want to defend the rule against a lawsuit brought by a New York vessel owner fined for violating seasonal speed limits. The suit alleges that NOAA Fisheries lacked the statutory authority to issue the rule.
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greater sage grouse
Washington, D.C.

Final Rescission of Public Lands Rule Reverses Modern Land Management, Threatens Wildlife Habitat

The Bureau of Land Management today announced a decision to roll back the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, commonly referred to as the Public Lands Rule. The policy modernized how BLM manages our national public lands and represented the critical incorporation of ecological resilience into management alongside traditional resource extraction.

Press Releases

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Grizzly bear with cubs
Washington, DC

Despite False Claims, Trump’s Environmental Agenda is the Worst in Recent History

Today, President Trump will hold a White House press conference to greenwash his terrible environmental record. The Trump administration has attempted to roll back, undermine and obliterate our nation’s bedrock environmental laws, like the Endangered Species Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act and National Environmental Policy Act among others in an effort to appease the oil and gas industry and other extractive industries making it easier to develop on our nation’s public lands.
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Condor with wings outstretched
SACRAMENTO

Lead Ammunition Officially Banned for Hunting Use in California

Today marks the official end of lead ammunition use in hunting in the state of California.
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Right Whale
Washington, DC

Pro-Wildlife Package Sails Through House; House Defeats Bad Arctic Refuge, Right Whale Riders

The House has approved key natural resource sections in the Interior-Environment and Commerce-Justice-Science funding bills, of H.R. 3055, the second minibus of fiscal year 2020 appropriations bills. The Interior Appropriations bill provides an extraordinary $37 million increase for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s endangered species program to support recovery efforts for our most vulnerable species.
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Red wolves playing
Washington, DC

Lawsuit Launched Over Trump Administration Failure to Update Outdated Red Wolf Recovery Plan

The Center for Biological Diversity and Defenders of Wildlife today filed a formal notice of intent to sue the Trump administration for failing to prepare an updated recovery plan for the United States’ rapidly dwindling population of endangered Red Wolves.
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Lesser Prairie Chicken
Washington, DC

Lawsuit Seeks Endangered Species Protections for Lesser Prairie Chickens

Conservation groups today sued the Trump administration for failing to protect severely imperiled lesser prairie chickens under the Endangered Species Act.
Senior Vice President, External Affairs
lsheehan@defenders.org
(202) 772-3244
Communications Director
mdewane@defenders.org
(202) 772-0217
Communications Specialist
jcovey@defenders.org
Communications Specialist
kirby@defenders.org
(202) 772-3268