Canada Lynx
WildEarth Guardians sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in federal court for unreasonably delaying and failing to comply with a 4-year-old court order to correct errors and revise its critical habitat for Canada lynx.
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Urban Prairie Dogs
A federal judge dismissed Prairie Protection Colorado’s lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, contesting its ruling that urban prairie dogs can be killed; plaintiffs argued that no bubonic plague had turned up yet in the little critters.
Read moreScientists Warn of Environmental Destruction Caused by the Wealthiest
Affluence and over-consumption are destroying the planet and only large scale economic and lifestyle changes can save it, a group of sustainability scientists warned in a paper published Friday.
Read moreHunting on Land May Have Helped Spur Brain Evolution
New evidence in evolutionary science revealed Tuesday shows that land animals became smarter than their aquatic ancestors thanks to the complex landscapes they inhabited, allowing them to develop planning abilities that increased their survival rate.
Read moreHummingbirds Able to Perceive Expansive Array of Colors Humans Can Not
Hummingbirds may be largely known for their furiously quick-flapping wings and avid love for sugar, but new research released Monday shows they have earned another claim to fame: an ability to see colors the human eye could only dream of.
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Pangolin Released Into Wild Under China’s New Protections
Activists in China have released a pangolin into the wild to celebrate new protections for the armadillo-like animal whose numbers in the country have dropped to near extinction levels.
Read moreSea Otter Repopulation Efforts Add More Benefits Than Costs
Sea otters in the Pacific Northwest are experiencing a resurgence after being hunted to near extinction by the 18th and 19th century fur trade, bringing with them profound benefits to the local environment and economy.
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Mexican Zoo Saves Animals Endangered by Virus Crisis
Kira, a 2-1/2-year-old tiger, arrived at a zoo in Mexico’s northeast in April after her owner could no longer feed her due to the coronavirus-induced economic collapse.
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Trump Administration OKs Drilling in California’s Largest Grassland
The Trump administration announced plans to allow oil and gas development on a national monument that is home to endangered species and unspoiled wilderness stashed in between the most populous parts of the state.
Read moreWildlife Killing
WildEarth Guardians and a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture reached a settlement agreement in a federal suit over the division’s wildlife killings in Montana. The environmental protection group claimed the division relied on outdated environmental reviews. Under the settlement, the division will curtail its use of snares, traps and poisons.
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Endangered Jaguar at Crux of New Border-Wall Fight
Three environmental groups challenging the border wall between the United States and Mexico argued Tuesday in a federal complaint that the plan will completely kill off a population of jaguar.
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The Western Watersheds Project et al. sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture in federal court for its outdated environmental plans to kill coyotes and other wildlife with poison and other means.
Read moreSuit That Says Bear Baiting Harms Grizzlies Advances
A federal judge in Idaho on Thursday denied the federal government’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit by conservation organizations that sought to stop black-bear baiting in national forests in Idaho and Wyoming.
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Pangolins, Possible Covd-19 Transmitters, Lack Virus-Detecting Genes
Pangolins – the scaled anteater-like mammals pegged as a potential transmitter of Covid-19 – lack the virus-detecting genes which act as an alarm when an intruder enters their body, researchers revealed Thursday, a discovery which may help scientists pinpoint treatments for coronavirus.
Read moreEndangered Species
The Center for Biological Diversity claims in a federal complaint that Interior Secretary David Bernhardt missed the deadline to decide whether coastal populations of the Humboldt marten merit protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Read moreTyson Pollution
Alabama sued Tyson Farms in Walker County Court, claiming its unpermitted discharge of 223,000 gallons of wastewater killed fish and wildlife.
Read moreVirus Research
The Washington Post sued the State Department in federal court for information on U.S. diplomats’ visits to Wuhan, China in 2018, regarding the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s “studies on bat coronaviruses,” and the diplomats’ urging the U.S. to provide support to the lab, “because its research on bat coronaviruses was important but dangerous,” and the U.S. refusal to provide such support.
Read moreNational Forest
The Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center sued the U.S. Forest Service in federal court for approving logging and timber sales on 1,650 acres of Klamath National Forest, habitat for the Northern spotted owl and Pacific fisher.
Read moreLynx Habitat
A federal court in Montana lifted an injunction that prevented the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from implementing two projects in the Gallatin National Forest, finding the federal defendants have now adequately demonstrated that the projects will not “appreciably reduce the conservation value” of the Canada lynx critical habitat.
Read moreEnvironment
The Yellowstone to Uintas Connection sued the U.S. Forest Service in federal court, claiming the Crow Creek natural gas pipeline project through 20 miles of national forest will harm protected wildlife.
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