(EnviroNews DC News Bureau)— Washington D.C. — Days ahead of the 2020 presidential election, then-President Donald Trump’s Interior Department (DOI/Interior) under Secretary David Bernhardt made an announcement that sent shockwaves through the environmental movement: gray wolves (Canis lupus) were to be stripped of their protections under the Endangered…
(EnviroNews Nature) — Washington D.C. — As of March 1, 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is delaying the implementation of a final rule crafted at the end of Trump’s term until April 30, 2021. The rule-change, if it remains in place, will slash the northern spotted…
(EnviroNews Nature) — On Jan. 14, 2021, a coalition of nine conservation organizations represented by the Western Environmental Law Center (WELC) filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for its decision to “prematurely” strip the gray wolf (Canis lupus) of protection under the Endangered Species…
(EnviroNews Nature) — Missoula, Montana — On Dec. 14, 2020, the Western Environmental Law Center (WELC) filed a formal legal complaint on behalf of WildEarth Guardians (Guardians), Oregon Wild, Cascadia Wildlands, and 10 other wildlife advocacy groups. The lawsuit accuses the Trump Administration’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service…
(EnviroNews Nature) — In response to Donald Trump being elected president in 2016, environmental NGO Defenders of Wildlife (Defenders) launched the Center for Conservation Innovation (CCI) on March 30, 2017 in order to save 14,000 documents related to the Endangered Species Act (ESA). They had good reason to be…
(EnviroNews Nature) — Washington D.C. — On Sep. 9, 2020, Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), Chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), held a hearing called: Successful State Stewardship: A Legislative Hearing to Examine S.614, the Grizzly Bear State Management Act (GBSMA). S.614 was introduced to…
(EnviroNews DC News Bureau) — Washington D.C. — The Endangered Species Act (ESA/the Act), in its original form, required listing decisions to be made based on science and trade data without any other considerations given for any reason. But a Trump Administration rollback in 2017 and finalized on…
(EnviroNews DC News Bureau) — In what prominent conservation group WildEarth Guardians (Guardians) is calling “death by a thousand cuts,” the Trump Administration is at it again, with another proposed change that would weaken the overwhelmingly popular Endangered Species Act (ESA/the Act). This go-round features an attempt to…
(EnviroNews Alaska) — In Mike Dunleavy’s first year as Governor of Alaska, he managed to alienate constituents by severely slashing education, social programs and Medicaid. His actions prompted a state-wide recall attempt in July 2019. Now, the Governor is making a strong push to open Alaska’s protected oil and…
(EnviroNews Nature) — The iconic northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) is back in the news again as population numbers continue to decline throughout its range — from British Columbia to Northern California. The primary culprit in the story of this bird’s precipitous decline has always been recognized…