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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Memo Underscores Trump Administration’s All-Fronts War on Wildlife
Brian Nesvik, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, issued a memorandum explaining to FWS staff that the Endangered Species Act’s prohibition on unauthorized “take” applies only to affirmative acts intentionally and purposefully directed at a particular animal. This follows the Trump administration’s rescission of the regulatory definitions of “harm” under the ESA, which took effect this week.
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Court Rules Habitat Must Be Protected After FWS Attempts to Waive Protections for Less Than 40 Sierra Nevada Red Fox
Defenders of Wildlife earned a significant victory for the Endangered Species Act today when a federal district court found that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to not designate critical habitat for the endangered Sierra Nevada red fox was a violation of the law.
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Construction on Gateway to Road through Izembek Continues
The Ninth Circuit today denied Defenders of Wildlife’s emergency motion to halt construction on King Cove Corp.’s 2.8-mile road segment leading to the doorstep of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness. Defenders’ request for immediate injunctive relief marks the latest stage in its larger effort to block a damaging and precedent-setting road from King Cove to Cold Bay, Alaska, that would plow through the heart of Izembek.
Press Releases
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Analysis: Public Overwhelmingly Opposes Feds’ Plan to Nearly Wipe Out Wild Red Wolves in North Carolina
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposal to remove protections from the nation’s only wild population of endangered Red Wolves has been met with near
Canada Urged to Expand Fisheries Closures to Save North Atlantic Right Whale
Wildlife and animal-protection groups submitted recommendations today urging Canada’s fishery management agency to continue and expand protections for critically imperiled North Atlantic right whales. Following
U.S. Forest Service Moves Backwards on Tongass Forest Old-Growth Logging
Today the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) released a draft Record of Decision proposing the largest old-growth logging project in the nation in decades. The proposal
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Supreme Court Halts Effort to Reinstate Failed “No Otter Zone” in California
The U.S. Supreme Court today declined to review a Ninth Circuit decision that upheld the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s termination of a failed experimental program known as the “No Otter Zone.” The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had determined the program would harm the California sea otter by excluding the animals from their historic range along the Southern California coast.
WDFW Orders Full Killing of Kettle Range Pack
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today more lethal removal against a pack in the Kettle Range in northern Ferry County. The
jcovey@defenders.org
