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manta rays swimming in the shallow ocean with coral
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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sage grouse in snow at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge
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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A Key deer at National Key Deer Wildlife Refuge on Big Pine Key in the Florida Keys
Washington, DC

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to Propose Downgrading or Eliminating Federal Protections for Imperiled Species

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) released its three-year plan to propose removing 25 threatened or endangered species currently listed under the Endangered Species Act, including the delisting of species that are not yet recovered like the gray wolf in the Lower 48 States, Key deer and Canada lynx.
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SACRAMENTO

Vote Makes Four Native Bumble Bee Species Candidates for Listing under California Endangered Species Act

Today, the California Fish and Game Commission has voted to begin the listing process for four native species of bumble bees as endangered, in an attempt to ensure their survival in the state.
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SACRAMENTO

California Wildlife Organizations Cheer State Budget’s Commitment to Protect Wildlife Habitat

On Sunday, the 2019 Budget Conference Committee approved a ten-year commitment to appropriate $30 million per year to assure conservation of unique and important wildlife habitat throughout the state.
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Piping plover mom and chick
Washington, DC

Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration’s Rollbacks of Offshore Drilling Safety Regs

Ten environmental groups sued the Trump administration today to challenge rollbacks of the 2016 Well Control and Blowout Preventer Rule, a safety regulation meant to prevent another blowout like what happened during the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon disaster.
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Gray Wolf in Yellowstone
PORTLAND, Ore.

Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission Approves Anti-Wolf Revisions to Wolf Plan

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission (the Commission) voted on anti-wolf revisions to the Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan (Wolf Plan).
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