Newsroom
Press Releases
CEQ is reviewing and seeking public input regarding the adequacy of MMS compliance with NEPA at all phases of its offshore oil and gas program, specifically focusing on the use of NEPA categorical exclusions.
Oil continues to gush unabated into the Gulf of Mexico, harming wildlife and coastal habitat, despite several unsuccessful attempts to cap the flow and mitigate the spread of the slick. In the time since the administration originally called for a temporary halt to new offshore drilling, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) has granted at least seven new drilling permits and five waivers, according to the New York Times (5/24)
Defenders of Wildlife and the Southern Environmental Law Center today notified BP that they would file suit against the company for the unauthorized take of endangered species caused by the continuing oil spill and use of dispersants.
Litigation filed today in federal court seeks to expand habitat protections for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale to include the whale’s nursery, breeding and feeding grounds. The lawsuit was filed by The Humane Society of the United States, Defenders of Wildlife, Center for Biological Diversity and Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.
Three endangered Florida panthers were killed by vehicles in the last three days on one very dangerous road: Tamiami Trail/U.S. 41. The casualties include a 5 to 6 year-old male panther, killed Friday near Monroe Station in Big Cypress National Preserve; a 5 year-old female panther discovered Saturday on U.S. 41 just west of Collier Seminole State Park; and a 6 to 8 month-old male panther kitten killed Sunday on U.S. 41 a mile and a half east of CR 951. Biologists are concerned that this kitten’s mother may be at risk as she searches for him. In addition, the female panther found Saturday had two seven-week-old kittens, who will not be able to survive without her.
The following is a statement from Defenders of Wildlife Alaska Program Director Karla Dutton in response to a decision by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to pursue predator control on Unimak Island, a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System:
In an effort to stimulate a national renewable energy policy that is efficient, clean and green, ranking Congressional members today delivered a letter to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Robert Abbey, calling on them to encourage state BLM offices to identify disturbed lands that are appropriate for renewable energy development. The Wilderness Society and Defenders of Wildlife applaud these leaders’ effort to highlight an innovative renewable energy development program that can launch America into a clean energy future that is truly green.
Today, 14 major environmental groups joined together on a letter asking President Obama to ban offshore drilling in places off U.S. coasts that are not currently being drilled. The President has the authority to ban drilling in new areas through a Presidential withdrawal.
Defenders of Wildlife and the Southern Environmental Law Center today filed suit challenging the Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) complicity in the Gulf oil disaster and continued lax oversight of oil drilling operations, including its failure to require a thorough examination of spill risks from exploratory drilling operations like the Deepwater Horizon. The legal filing seeks to prohibit the MMS from continuing to exempt from environmental review new exploratory drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico.