(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) — Bloomington, Minnesota — In 1978, the gray wolf was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in every state in the contiguous U.S. except Minnesota, where it was listed as threatened. Since then, farmers, ranchers, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) and Administrations from Clinton…
(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 Nature) — Washington D.C. — Rusty patched bumblebees (Bombus affinis) buzz, they bumble, they vibrate, and they knock a helluva lot of pollen loose from the flowers they visit — more than honeybees to be sure. They can fly and work in colder temperatures too, making them…
(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…
(EnviroNews Nature) — Boise, Idaho — A federal court judge said the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFWS) “looked at the trees without looking at the forest,” by artificially minimizing dangers facing the imperiled greater sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). The ruling strikes down a…
(EnviroNews Nature) — In a win for nature fans, the United States District Court in Arizona struck down a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service/USFWS) management rule for the endangered Mexican grey wolf (Canis lupus baileyi), finding that it “provides only for short-term survival of the species…
(EnviroNews Nature) — Environmental organizations filed a lawsuit on January 30, 2018, in U.S. District Court in Arizona against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), alleging the agency violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by ignoring science relevant to the recovery of the beleaguered Mexican wolf (Canis…
(EnviroNews Nature) — Washington D.C. — You’ve probably never seen a Canada lynx (Lynx Canadensis) in the wild. And if the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) pulls off its plan to remove Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for the elusive wildcat, conservationists say you might never get…
(EnviroNews Nature) — On August 30, 2017, WildEarth Guardians (Guardians), a nonprofit environmental group legendary for suing the federal government on wildlife issues, sued the Trump Administration — this time for stripping the iconic Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) of its endangered species status…
(EnviroNews Nature) — On Aug. 3, 2017, Defenders of Wildlife (Defenders) released a pilot report demonstrating how satellite data, remote sensing and cloud computing can be used to monitor wildlife habitat loss. Defenders’ Center for Conservation Innovation (CCI), which focuses on the use of technology and data in…
(EnviroNews Nature) — Washington D.C. — On August 4, 2017, Department of Interior (DOI) Secretary Ryan Zinke published a memorandum calling for the immediate revision of the 2015 Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation Plan. This memo follows up on his June Secretarial Order to review sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) protections…
(EnviroNews Nature) — Washington D.C. — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced June 22, 2017, that it has finalized its plan to rescind Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection for the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), and turn management of the iconic creature…
(EnviroNews Nature) — On May 10, 2017, Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), led a committee oversight hearing called, “Conservation, Consultation and Capacity: State Views on the Need to Modernize the Endangered Species Act.” Green groups decry Barrasso’s desire…