National Wildlife Refuges

Ruling restores vital role of wildlife experts in forest fire planning

WASHINGTON (Feb. 7, 2012) – The U.S. District Court of D.C. struck down Bush administration regulations yesterday that would have allowed National Fire Plan projects to move forward without consulting the government’s own wildlife experts. Defenders initially challenged the regulations in 2006, arguing that the regulations violated long-standing Endangered Species Act procedures that help protect the environment and imperiled wildlife.

Transportation funding bill is the latest vehicle to cater to Big Oil

Summary:

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar sets a course for conservation in new vision for the National Wildlife Refuge System

Jamie Rappaport Clark, Defenders of Wildlife’s president and former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, welcomed the Obama administration’s effort to frame a new conservation vision for the more than 150 million acres that make up America's National Wildlife Refuge System.

Wilderness designation critical for Arctic mammals imperiled by climate change