In March, when the Trump administration released a new set of land-use plans that rolled back a collection of 2015 restrictions on oil and gas drilling across 9 million acres of the Greater Sage-Grouse’s most important habitat, environmental groups immediately sued to get the plans thrown out. They also asked for a court order to […]
Tag: endangered species act
Final Plan for Arctic Refuge Drilling Could Cause Extinctions, Admits Government
The U.S. Department of the Interior last week took a major step toward the first-ever oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In a decision that outraged but did not surprise environmentalists, the agency announced its final plan to develop one of the world’s last great wildernesses, acknowledging that its chosen course might wipe […]
Oregon Bans Trapping of Humboldt Martens
PORTLAND, Ore.— In response to a petition from conservation groups, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted 4-3 late Friday to protect Humboldt martens from trapping. Fewer than 200 of the martens survive in the state’s coastal forests. The new trapping guidelines ban all marten trapping west of the Interstate 5 corridor. The rules also […]
Sea lions to be culled to protect salmon
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is accepting public comments on a new plan to cull sea lions on the Columbia River, along the Oregon-Washington border, in order to benefit populations of salmon and steelhead, which have been falling in recent years. Current management policy allows up to 92 California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) to […]
Energy development vs. endangered species: winner takes all
Widespread species decline at the hands of humans is a powerful tale. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, more than 27 per cent of 100,000 assessed species are threatened with extinction. This disappearance is a warning that something is amiss on Earth. The Anthropocene is the newly recognized geological epoch defined as […]
1.8 Million Americans Speak Out Against Stripping Federal Protections from Wolves
WASHINGTON, DC— Almost two million Americans stated their opposition to the Trump administration’s proposal to strip endangered species protections from gray wolves in a comment period that closed today. This is one of the largest numbers of comments ever submitted on a federal decision involving endangered species and reflects broad dissatisfaction with the Trump administration’s […]
POLL: Should the Trump Administration be allowed to ignore the Endangered Species Act?
The Endangered Species Act is one of the most effective pieces of legislation in the United States. Roughly 99 percent of the species protected under the act have been saved from extinction — preserving biodiversity even as relentless development into animals’ natural habitats continues. Unfortunately, the Trump administration has unleashed a full broadside into the […]
POLL: Should the Fish and Wildlife Service protect giraffes as an endangered species?
Animal advocacy and conservation organizations are taking the Trump administration to court for failing to protect giraffes who are suffering from what’s been dubbed a “silent extinction.” Although they might be one of the most easily recognizable and beloved animals on earth, giraffes have been quietly disappearing at an alarming rate. Since the mid-1980s, their […]
