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Trump Administration Advances Roadless Rule Repeal at the Expense of Wildlife, Clean Water and Public Will
The U.S. Department of Agriculture today released its proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement seeking to rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, a bedrock law that protects 45 million acres of national forests managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
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Judge Vacates Land Exchange, Halts Road Through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge
A federal judge today vacated an illegal closed-door deal between the U.S. Department of the Interior and a for-profit Alaska Native corporation, King Cove Corp., that exchanged a 10.5-mile corridor of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness lands to enable a road connecting King Cove and Cold Bay.
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Defenders Strongly Opposes USDA Proposal to Dismantle Long-Standing Protections for National Forests
The United States Department of Agriculture today announced that the U.S. Forest Service has filed a proposed rule to fully rescind the national 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule — a bedrock conservation policy that has protected nearly 45 million acres of undeveloped backcountry forests for over two decades.
Press Releases
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Biden Administration Withdraws from Izembek National Wildlife Refuge Land Swap
Today, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland revoked a land swap triggered by the Trump administration that would have paved the way for a road through Alaska’s Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. The Department of the Interior will initiate a new environmental analysis to determine if a land exchange and potential gravel road comply with federal laws and regulations.
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Defenders Applauds Efforts to Establish New Conservation Area in Southwest Florida
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced its intent to begin conservation planning efforts across a study area in southwest Florida.
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Biden Administration Takes the Wrong Turn with Approval of ConocoPhillips’ Massive Oil and Gas Expansion in the Western Arctic
Despite millions of comments in opposition, the Biden administration has approved ConocoPhillips’ massive Willow oil and gas expansion in Alaska’s Western Arctic.
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Congress Urged to Spend $841 Million to Fully Fund Endangered Species Protection
More than 120 conservation groups, including Defenders of Wildlife, urged Congress to significantly increase the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s budget for endangered species conservation from $331 million to $841 million.
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U.S. Supreme Court Chooses Not to Hear Kenai Bear-baiting Case
The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately chose not to hear a challenge to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) authority to manage wildlife on national wildlife refuge land. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit had upheld a 2016 FWS regulation that, among other things, prohibits brown bear baiting on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
jcovey@defenders.org
