In a major setback for wildlife protection and conservation, a federal district court today sided with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service, delaying the restoration of comprehensive Endangered Species Act protections for hundreds of species and the places they call home.
MISSOULA, MT— Nine conservation organizations filed a lawsuit today to challenge the U.S. Forest Service’s 2021 decision to authorize expanded livestock grazing on six allotments on the east side of Montana’s Paradise Valley. The allotments lie just north of Yellowstone National Park in occupied grizzly bear habitat.
SEATTLE-- Today, Washington Sen. Patty Murray and Gov. Jay Inslee issued a long-awaited final report evaluating the services of the four lower Snake River dams and their devastating impacts on salmon populations. The report concludes that the current state of salmon recovery projects on the Snake River is unsustainable and will not lead to the recovery of salmon populations, whose numbers have been declining for decades due in large part to the four dams.
Helena, MT-- Today, the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission met to determine the framework for the 2022-23 wolf hunting and trapping season, including quotas around Yellowstone National Park.
In response, Bonnie Rice, Senior Representative for the Sierra Club in the Yellowstone and Northern Rockies regions, issued the following statement:
Today the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources voted out of committee Senator Daines’ bill that would remove requirements under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). S. 2561, ostensibly centered around undoing the Cottonwood Environmental Law Center v. United States Forest Service (Cottonwood) court decision, would eliminate the reinitiation of programmatic consultation with the Forest Service for its land management plans.
Today, in a win for wildlife protection and conservation, a federal district court restored comprehensive Endangered Species Act regulatory protections to hundreds of species and the places they call home. The Services filed a voluntary remand motion in December 2021 in response to a lawsuit filed by Earthjustice on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), National Parks Conservation Association, Wild Earth Guardians, and the Humane Society of the United States challenging harmful rules put in place by the Trump administration in 2019. The Services asked to partially rewrite flawed Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations while keeping them in place during a rulemaking process that could take years to complete. The Court disagreed and vacated the 2019 ESA regulations instead.
The House Appropriations Committee today is taking up the FY2023 Interior spending bill. The bill would provide robust funding increases for endangered, threatened, and imperiled species conservation and outdoor access and equity work.
Today, the Recovering America's Wildlife Act (RAWA) passed out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee with a 15-5 vote. This historic bipartisan bill would invest nearly $1.4 billion for states, territories, and Tribes to amplify their work in recovering, conserving, and protecting at-risk wildlife and habitat.
A federal district court today struck down a 2020 decision by the US Fish and Wildlife Service that removed federal protections from gray wolves across much of the US The Trump administration delisted the gray wolf after 45 years of protection under the Endangered Species Act despite the strong disagreement from experts who noted that the wolf’s recovery hinged on continued protections. Although President Biden expressed personal concern for wolves, the Biden administration chose to defend the delisting decision.
Today, the House Natural Resources Committee is taking up the Recovering America's Wildlife Act. This bill would invest nearly $1.4 billion for states, territories, and tribes to amplify their work in recovering, conserving, and protecting at-risk wildlife and habitat.
Today, the Endangered Species Coalition released a new report that highlights the devastating impact of climate change on ten dwindling US species, including the Florida Key deer, the Sierra Club’s nomination to the list. Biodiversity is the key to a healthy, livable planet, and without conserving species like these, we risk losing clean air and water and sufficient food to sustain us all.
Following the conclusion of last week’s White House Tribal Nations Summit, 62 conservation groups today called for the Biden administration to immediately relist the gray wolf and engage with Tribal nations on wolf management and protection.