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Aerial view of the National Petroleum Reserve in northwestern Alaska

The Biden Administration Protects Millions of Acres of Arctic Alaska

Latest NewsAlaskaJenny Shalant
The new Special Areas Rule in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska could boost biodiversity and empower Indigenous Peoples to defend the lands they’ve relied on for generations.
Two adults and a child walk along a sandy shoreline

“Forever Chemicals” Called PFAS Show Up in Your Food, Clothes, and Home

ExplainerUnited StatesMolly M. Ginty, Courtney Lindwall
These toxic chemicals are so common in consumer products and manufacturing that they’re everywhere—including inside our bodies.
A river with green trees on either side, with yellow hills in the background

In Planning for Climate Change, Native Americans Draw on the Past

ExplainerUnited States, CanadaTim Vanderpool
Across North America, Indigenous tribes and nations are consulting their traditional ecological knowledge to help prepare for a warming world.

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NOAA Must Take Emergency Measures to Save Right Whales

Expert BlogDr. Francine Kershaw
The Trump-era proposed rulemaking intended to reduce entanglements of North Atlantic right whales in fishing gear is a death sentence for the species. The Biden administration must take emergency measures to immediately protect the North Atlantic right whales from extinction.

California Leads the Nation on Ropeless Gear Regulations

Expert BlogCaliforniaDr. Francine Kershaw
New regulations published by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife will reduce entanglements of endangered humpback whales, blue whales, and Pacific leatherback sea turtles in the state’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery.

Right Whales Suffer Precipitous Decline

Expert BlogUnited States, CanadaDr. Francine Kershaw
356. The number of North Atlantic right whales estimated to remain on earth at the end of 2019. This is a precipitous decline from an estimated population size of 409 whales just a year ago. Vessel strikes and entanglement in…

Maine Lobster Fishery Loses Sustainable Seafood Label

Expert BlogDr. Francine Kershaw
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.

Right Whales Uplisted to Critically Endangered by IUCN

Expert BlogDr. Francine Kershaw
North Atlantic right whales have been uplisted from Endangered to Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), sounding the alarm that the species is only one step away from extinction.

NOAA Urged to Protect Right Whales from Deadly Entanglements

Expert BlogDr. Francine Kershaw
NRDC and our members and activists submitted almost 39,000 individual comments telling NOAA to take strong and effective measures to significantly reduce the risk of right whales experiencing serious injuries and mortalities in U.S. fisheries.

You Can Now Weigh In On New Right Whale Protections

Expert BlogEastDr. Francine Kershaw

There are now around only 400 right whales left and less than a quarter of those are breeding females. At the current rate of decline, we will lose our iconic East Coast whale forever in just a few decades.

Maine Delegation Moves to Block Right Whale Protections

Expert BlogDr. Francine Kershaw
Maine’s congressional delegation has sent a letter to President Trump asking him to block the efforts of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop new regulations intended to save the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale from extinction.

Is the Right Whale “Baby Boom” Really That?

Expert BlogDr. Francine Kershaw
The seven calves sighted so far this year deserve celebration and represent an emblem of hope that the species can recover if given the chance. It’s important, however, to put these numbers in a longer-term context; in doing so, it’s…