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NPS Land Swaps and Visitor Plan Opens the Door to Devastating Impacts on Imperiled Wildlife at Cumberland Island
In advance of a public hearing on proposed land exchanges on Cumberland Island National Seashore, Defenders of Wildlife called on the National Park Service to remedy a host of management issues facing one of the largest undeveloped barrier islands on the East Coast.
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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.
Press Releases
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Defenders Staunchly Opposes “ESA Flexibility Act” Which Would Gut Imperiled Species Conservation Efforts
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries today will hold a hearing on the ESA Flexibility Act, a bill that if passed would catastrophically undermine key foundational elements of the Endangered Species Act.
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Defenders and Allies Call on Biden Administration for Overdue Right Whale Protections
Conservation groups have asked a federal court on Feb. 13 to lift a stay and allow paused litigation to proceed, in pursuit of a deadline
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Draft Mining Permits Spell Danger for Okefenokee Refuge
A damaging strip-mining plan threatening the country’s last intact freshwater ecosystem has moved one step closer to reality. On Feb. 9, the Georgia Environmental Protection
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Defenders Decries U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Inaction to List Gray Wolves
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced it will not relist gray wolves of the Northern Rocky Mountain population to the Endangered Species Act.
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Logging project in Nantahala National Forest violates federal law, new lawsuit alleges
On Wednesday, a coalition of conservation groups filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service, alleging the agency’s plans to log a sensitive area
jcovey@defenders.org
