Soot-Stained Flora and Fauna Drive DC Circuit Fight
Environmentalists asked the appeals court Tuesday to step in where federal regulation has failed to ensure that polluted air and water won’t end in extinction.
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Endangered Species Act
California Leads Charge Against Parting Gut of Endangered Species Act by Trump
California launched its attack on President Donald Trump’s final attempt at gutting the Endangered Species Act on his way out the door.
Read moreDelisting Gray Wolves
Environmentalists sued the Trump administration Thursday over its plans to remove Endangered Species Act protections from nearly all gray wolves in the lower 48 states, despite scientific evidence the wolves are functionally extinct throughout much of their historic range.
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‘Trump’ Found Scrawled on Back of Florida Manatee
Federal and state wildlife officials in Florida continued their search Tuesday for those responsible for etching “Trump” on the back of a living manatee.
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White House Readies New Lame-Duck Gut of Endangered Species Rules
The change allows agencies to duck environmental compliance reviews for projects on federal land even when there’s evidence the project will harm endangered species.
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June Sucker
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made good on its plan to move the June sucker — a fish found in Utah — from endangered to threatened, citing collaborative recovery efforts.
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White House Waters Down Definition of Critical Habitat for Endangered Species
With Inauguration Day looming, the lame-duck Trump administration continues to spend political capital on weakening the Endangered Species Act, the latest move a redefining of “critical habitat” as only referring to a given species’ presently occupied ecosystem rather than its historical range.
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Feds List Key Subalpine Pine Species as Threatened
They can survive winds of 100 miles an hour and hundreds of inches of snow, but the whitebark pine is struggling against the onslaught of a European fungal disease and climate change.
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Environmentalists Bring Second Suit to Protect NC River Species
An environmental group sued the federal government again Tuesday for not giving endangered species protections to two aquatic creatures in eastern North Carolina, claiming officials have dragged their feet for nearly a decade on the proposed protection.
Read moreProtecting Peppered Chub
Responding to a lawsuit filed this year by conservationists, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Monday it will protect the peppered chub — a fish once widely found in the Arkansas River — as an endangered species and designate 1,068 river miles in four states as critical habitat.
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Trump Administration Moves Ahead on Gutting Bird Protections
The Trump administration moved forward Friday on gutting a longstanding federal protection for the nation’s birds, over objections from former federal officials and many scientists that billions more birds will likely perish as a result.
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NOAA Denies Petition to Delist Arctic Ringed Seals
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Wednesday it would decline to delist the Arctic subspecies of ringed seals from the Endangered Species Act listing, citing a lack of evidence the creatures have recovered.
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Trump Plans Would Ease Protections for Sage Grouse in West
The Trump administration announced plans Thursday that ease protections for sage grouse in the West, prompting an outcry by critics who say the move paves the way for widespread mining and drilling and ignores a federal court ruling.
Read moreSaving Butterflies
The Center for Biological Diversity sued the Trump administration over its approval of the expansion of the Lee Canyon Ski Area to include summer recreation opportunities like zip lines and a “mountain coaster,” all at the expense of the endangered Mount Charleston blue butterfly.
Read moreSickle Darter
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to list the little sickle darter — a fish found in North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia — as threatened due to small dams and barriers, pesticides and herbicides in their habitat, development and climate change.
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Next President Should Strengthen Endangered Species Act: Report
In a new report, scientists say reversing the Trump administration’s pillaging of the Endangered Species Act won’t be enough — the act needs to be bolstered to be even more effective.
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Loitering Whales Delay California Crab Season Opener
With an abundance of whales off the coast yet to begin their winter migration south, California’s renowned commercial Dungeness crab season will be delayed for the second consecutive year.
Read moreEndangered Mussel
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to list the Canoe Creek clubshell — a freshwater mussel in Alabama — as endangered, and will designate 36 miles of river as critical habitat.
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California Sued for Failing to Protect Shorebird From Off-Roaders
Conservationists blasted California over its continued refusal to protect the endangered snowy plover from being crushed by dune buggies and ATVs at Oceano Dunes State Park.
Read moreTemblor Legless Lizard
The Center for Biological Diversity asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to extend Endangered Species Act protections to the Temblor legless lizard, a rare sand-swimming reptile living in the Temblor Range in Kern County, California, that is at risk from oil and gas drilling.
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