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2019.08.07 - Florida Panther looking straight at camera - MS 45 - fStop Foundation
WASHINGTON, D.C.

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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A close up of the face of a Sierra Nevada Red Fox at the edge of a forest in Deschutes County, Oregon.
Washington, D.C.

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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Three sea otters float in the water. There are hills or mountains in the distance in the background.

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

Conservation Groups Join Reward to Catch Oregon Wolf Killer

Conservation organizations are bolstering a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) reward for information on the illegal killing of OR-33, a federally protected gray wolf

Arctic Refuge Drilling Advances Despite Strong Opposition

WASHINGTON – Today the Senate voted down a vigorously debated amendment to prevent Congress from advancing destructive drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as

U.S. Senators, Conservationists Stand Together Against Arctic Drilling

WASHINGTON ­– Defenders of Wildlife joined a media event today with Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and other Senate champions in advance of an expected vote

Governor Brown Approves Parks and Water Bond, Includes Funding for Salton Sea

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Oct. 16, 2017) – Late last night Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill (SB) 5, California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate Coastal Protection and
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Fall Tundra Izembek NWR

Documents Reveal Interior Department’s Secret Plan to Build Road through Wilderness Refuge

Public records obtained by Defenders of Wildlife pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request reveal that the Department of the Interior is planning a potentially illegal land exchange to remove wilderness wetlands in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska from federal public ownership for the construction of a controversial, damaging and unnecessary road.
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
Communications Specialist
estern@defenders.org
202-772-0243