Media Center

Interior Department Deprives Endangered Bee of Critical Habitat Needed to Survive

August 31, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON – The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) today decided not to designate critical habitat for the endangered rusty patched bumble bee. The federal agency claims the availability of habitat does not limit the conservation of the bee…

In Major Reversal, Trump Administration Stalls Pebble Mine

August 24, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON – The Army Corps of Engineers today said the Pebble Mine project in Bristol Bay, Alaska, would inflict “unavoidable adverse impacts” and lead to “significant degradation” to water and marine life. The agency gave its backers 90 days to…

U.S. Agrees to Decide Pangolin Protections

August 18, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON — Under a new legal agreement, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will decide whether pangolins, the world’s most trafficked mammals, should be protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Trump Administration to Withdraw Disgraceful Pendley Nomination

August 15, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON – The White House reportedly intends to withdraw the nomination of William Perry Pendley for director of the Bureau of Land Management. Pendley, who has made racist statements and is an advocate for selling off public lands, would remain…

Court Overturns Trump Administration Policy That Sharply Curtailed Protections for Migratory Birds

August 11, 2020 Press ReleaseNew York

A federal court today overturned a Trump administration reinterpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act that had upended decades of enforcement and let industry polluters entirely off the hook for killing birds.

Groups Sue Trump Administration Over Harmful NEPA Rules

August 6, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON – A broad coalition of justice and environmental groups sued the Trump administration today over its regulations that would gut environmental reviews and silence community input.

Gulf of Maine Lobster Fishery Temporarily Loses Sustainable Seafood Certification

August 5, 2020 Press ReleaseNew York

New York— The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has suspended its certification of the Gulf of Maine lobster fishery after determining that the fishery was potentially jeopardizing the survival of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.

Trump Administration Proposes Expanding Extinction Plan: Regulations Will Weaken Endangered Species Act and Worsen Biodiversity Crisis

July 31, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON – The Trump Administration announced a new change that would continue the dismantling of the Endangered Species Act, the nation’s most effective law for protecting imperiled wildlife from extinction. The move comes after the Trump Administration finalized a first…

Fishing and Conservation Groups Back State of Washington’s Move to Protect Salmon from Hot Water Caused by Federal Dams

July 29, 2020 Press Release

Olympia, WA —The Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association (NSIA), NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), and Columbia Riverkeeper have moved to intervene in a case to support the State of Washington’s new Clean Water Act limits on heat pollution from Columbia and…

NRDC, Healthy Gulf Sue to Protect Gulf of Mexico Whale

July 28, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON – NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) and Healthy Gulf filed a lawsuit today in federal court to protect the habitat of the critically endangered Gulf of Mexico whale.

Court Ruling: EPA Failed to Assess Enlist Duo’s Impact on Monarch Butterflies

July 22, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON, DC – In a victory for NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today decided the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) failed to consider harm to monarch butterflies from the destruction of milkweed…

NRDC and Partners Sue Trump Administration Over Marine Monument Rollback

June 17, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON – NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council) and partners sued the Trump administration today challenging President Trump’s recent unlawful attempt to roll back protections for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument.

Amid National Emergency, Trump to Strip Ocean Protections

June 5, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON – President Trump is expected to issue an executive order this afternoon to strip essential protections from a highly protected ocean area — the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument — by lifting all restrictions on commercial fishing…

More than 175 Leading Scientists Unite to Protect California’s Biodiversity

May 28, 2020 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SACRAMENTO, CA – More than 175 scientists and researchers who live or work in California have joined together in an open letter urging California policymakers to enact Assembly Bill (AB) 3030. Introduced by Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San Jose), AB 3030…

EPA’s Wheeler Must Account for Increasing Our Exposure to Pollutants

May 20, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON — When Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler testifies today before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, he has some serious explaining to do.

Plan: Preventing Future Pandemics Requires Sweeping U.S. Action on Wildlife Trade

May 18, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON— Conservation groups released a sweeping action plan today for the United States to dramatically crack down on wildlife trade, which is the most probable cause of the global coronavirus pandemic. Among other proposals, the action plan recommends that the…

Court Derails Trump Administration’s Efforts to Take More Water from Bay-Delta

May 12, 2020 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SACRAMENTO – The Federal Court for the Eastern District of California granted in part a preliminary injunction yesterday against the Trump Administration’s efforts to increase water diversions from California’s Bay-Delta, which threaten endangered species including winter-run Chinook salmon, Delta Smelt…

California Delivers Blow to Trump Administration’s Plan for Extinction in Bay-Delta

April 21, 2020 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SACRAMENTO – The California Attorney General, representing Governor Newsom and the State of California, filed a motion today in federal court for a preliminary injunction to stop the implementation of the Trump Administration’s biological opinions (permits under the Endangered Species…

More than 180,000 Americans Oppose Trump’s Plan to Cripple Migratory Bird Protections

March 19, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON — Conservation groups submitted more than 180,000 public comments today opposing the Trump administration’s proposed changes to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Latest Vaquita Death Comes as US Expands Seafood Ban

March 9, 2020 Press Release

WASHINGTON – According to credible media reports, another vaquita was found drowned after being trapped in illegal gillnets in the Gulf of California, potentially bringing the total population of the small porpoises to nine individuals. The death came just before…