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Legislation introduced today would ensure that California ceases to be both a major supplier and consumer of shark fins through a ban on the possession, sale, trade and distribution of fins.
The following is a statement from Defenders of Wildlife President Rodger Schlickeisen in response to the release of the Continuing Resolution (H.R. 1) by the Republicans in the U.S House of Representatives:
Obama administration seeks weaker wildlife protections on national forests, grasslands
The Obama administration yesterday announced it will not list the Pacific walrus under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Fish and Wildlife Service has determined the species is “warranted but precluded,” a delay in listing allowed by the ESA if the agency feels that other imperiled species are a higher priority.
Peter Voser, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, is reported today to have announced that the oil giant has abandoned plans for exploratory drilling in Alaska’s Beaufort Sea in 2011.
The number of endangered Mexican gray wolves in Arizona and New Mexico has grown for the first time in four years, federal wildlife officials announced today. The fragile population is up to at least 50 wolves and 2 breeding pairs, an increase of nearly 20 percent from this time last year.
Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg introduced two bills yesterday that would strip federal protections for gray wolves across the country. Together, these bills would allow states to eliminate all wolves in the Northern Rockies, Great Lakes and Southwest, including the 42 Mexican wolves struggling for survival in New Mexico and Arizona. If passed, this legislation would be the first to exempt a single species from the Endangered Species Act, setting a dangerous precedent for removing protections for other imperiled wildlife.
Continuing in his longtime role as a champion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) today is introducing a bill to designate the 1.5 million acre Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge as Wilderness – giving its wildlife, lands and waters increased protections against development. This bill comes as the nation celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Arctic Refuge – an event recently highlighted by President Barack Obama through a presidential proclamation – and as the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives appears poised to push for more drilling there. Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA) introduced a companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this month.
Defenders of Wildlife Board of Directors Chair Vic Sher announced today that Rodger Schlickeisen is retiring as president and CEO of the organization effective October 1, 2011, and that Jamie Rappaport Clark, current executive vice president, will be his successor.
The “Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling” today presented the results of its comprehensive, nonpartisan investigation of the worst environmental disaster in American history.