wildlife

9th Circuit Upholds Endangered Species Protections for Yellowstone Grizzlies

SAN FRANCISCO--The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today upheld the Montana District Court’s opinion that reinstated Endangered Species Act protections for the Yellowstone region’s grizzly bear population. The decision spares the grizzlies from plans for trophy hunts in the states of Wyoming and Idaho. 

Earthjustice, representing the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity and National Parks Conservation Association, argued for restoring protections to Yellowstone grizzly bears.

Trump Administration Advances Unprecedented Stripping of Protections for Wildlife

Washington, DC— Today as the country faces an uprising for racial justice and ongoing pandemic, the Trump administration’s Department of the Interior released its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) in efforts to strip critical protections in the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Culture of Corruption: Sierra Club Secures 43,374 Pages of Dept. of Interior Emails, Meetings and Documents

Washington, DC— The Sierra Club secured over 14,437 documents from the Department of the Interior through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), including call logs, meetings and email communications that are now available for the public. Find and search the documents online here.

Included in the lowlights are:

Trump’s Border Wall Would End Jaguar Recovery, Bulldoze Sky Island Mountains

TUCSON, Arizona— The Trump administration’s latest border wall plan, which would wall off the last jaguar migration paths and bulldoze Arizona’s Sky Island mountains, has drawn opposition from thousands of people across the country.

Conservation Groups Launch New Challenge to Elk Feedgrounds

JACKSON, Wyo.

Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration’s Authorization to Kill 72 Grizzlies Near Yellowstone

PINEDALE, Wyo.— The Center for Biological Diversity and Sierra Club filed a lawsuit today challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to allow 72 grizzly bears to be killed to accommodate livestock grazing in Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest, near Yellowstone National Park. 

Paintballing Grizzlies: A Dangerous Approach for People and Wildlife

Helena, MT— Last week, the Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Department announced that the U.S. Department of the Interior has approved paintballing by the public to haze grizzly bears, a threatened species protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Trump Administration Water Giveaway Reeks of Corruption, Hurts Californians

Bakersfield, CA— Today, reports suggest that Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Bernhardt will officially grant a permanent contract to Westlands Water District to divert water from California’s Central Valley to wealthy agricultural interests. Sec.

Conservationalists Challenge Weak Government Response to Urgent Wildlife Disease Threat at National Elk Refuge

Jackson, WY — A conservation coalition today filed a lawsuit against the U.S.

Court: Northern Long-eared Bat Was Unlawfully Denied Endangered Species Protection

WASHINGTON— A federal judge on Tuesday overturned a decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect northern long-eared bats as threatened rather than endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

Sierra Club: Congress Must Advance Wildlife Protection Legislation in Face of Climate Crisis

Washington, DC-- Tomorrow (1/29), the House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on several wildlife conservation bills-- including the Protect America’s Wildlife and Fish in Need of Protection Act (PAW and FIN Act) that will undo the Trump administration’s recent rollbacks to the Endangered Species Act.

Lawsuit Launched to Prevent Forest Service From Killing 72 Grizzlies Near Yellowstone

PINEDALE, Wyo.— The Center for Biological Diversity and Sierra Club notified the Trump administration today of their intent to sue over plans allowing 72 grizzly bears to be killed to accommodate livestock grazing in Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest. The forest encompasses the headwaters of the Green River, an area important for Yellowstone ecosystem grizzly bear recovery as well as elk, deer and pronghorn migrations.

Last year the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service authorized the killing of up to 72 grizzly bears over the 10-year life of the grazing program.