wildlife

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.

Sierra Magazine: A Glimpse at Highlights from the Latest Edition

Oakland, CA—Sierra magazine’s January/ February edition is now on newsstands and arriving at subscribers’ homes.

Highlights include: 

Sierra Club Statement: Wyoming Must Prioritize Healthy Wildlife, Phase Out Feedgrounds

Pinedale, WY-- Today, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) will host its first public meeting to announce recommendations of the state’s Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Working Group. The Working Group was formed earlier this year to revise Wyoming’s CWD management plan. CWD is the always-fatal wildlife disease that is spreading rapidly across the state and severely threatening Wyoming’s renowned deer, elk and moose populations.

Forest Service Plan for Wyoming’s Upper Green River Pushes Overgrazing, More Grizzly Killings

Conservation groups today blasted a U.S. Forest Service decision to authorize continued livestock grazing in the Bridger-Teton National Forest. The forest encompasses the headwaters of the Green River, an area important for grizzly bear recovery and elk, deer and pronghorn migrations. The Service itself determined that the plan’s grazing is “likely to adversely affect” grizzly bears, which are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Advocates Slam Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s Fish and Wildlife Plan, Citing Dismal Salmon and Orca Populations

Seattle, WA-- Today, at the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NWPCC)’s public hearing on their annual Fish and Wildlife Plan, over 80 advocates from multiple organizations testified-- calling out the Council’s inadequate plan to protect region’s struggling steelhead and Snake-Columbia salmon populations - along with the orca that rely on them -from extinction.

After the meeting, representatives from organizations in attendance released the following statements:

**MEDIA ADVISORY** Organizations to Call for Better Fish, Wildlife Plan at Seattle NWPCC Hearing

Seattle, WA-- Tomorrow, advocates from conservation and local organizations will publicly call on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NWPCC) to include critical protections for orca and salmon at their public hearing seeking public comment on their latest five-year Fish and Wildlife Plan. Advocates from conservation organizations will testify -- stressing the need for a plan to ensure recovery of the region’s rapidly declining whale and fish populations. See full event details here. 

Sierra Club Statement: Bernhardt Heads to Grizzly Country to Talk Bears

Dupuyer, MT--  Tomorrow, Interior Secretary Bernhardt will host a media event with Rep. Greg Gianforte in Dupuyer on the subject of grizzly bear management. The press event comes after Bernhardt implemented substantial rollbacks to the Endangered Species Act in August and assisted the finalizing of the delisting of grizzly bears in the Yellowstone region in 2017. Bernhardt’s record in Montana underlines his ties to extractive industry in the state, efforts to undermine wildlife protections and growing questions of ethics. 

As Wildlife Disease Tips Scale, Sierra Club Urges WY Phase-Out Feedlots

Jackson, WY-- Late yesterday, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department announced that chronic wasting disease (CWD) was confirmed in a mule deer in the Wyoming Range mountains. The positive test signals that the always-fatal wildlife disease has officially hit an area that encompasses three entire winter elk feedgrounds: South Park, Horse Creek, and Camp Creek; and a portion of Dell Creekfeedground at Riling Draw road.  

Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration Attack on Endangered Species Act

Environmental and animal protection groups today sued the Trump administration over its new regulations that dramatically weaken the Endangered Species Act.

Groups Urge Wyoming Game and Fish Commission to Adopt Bear Spray Requirement

Rock Springs, WY-- The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission will meet on July 18th and 19th to decide whether or not to require hunters to carry bear spray in grizzly bear habitat, how to control the spread of chronic wasting disease, and adopt regulations for wolf hunting, among other topics.