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Preserving and rebuilding natural defenses is one of the most cost-effective, practical and sustainable ways to protect American communities and natural resources from natural disasters, according to a report released today by Defenders of Wildlife. The new report demonstrates that by strengthening natural defenses like floodplains, wetlands, and forests — which help with erosion protection, flood control and water filtration, we can “harness nature” to help protect us from extreme events.
A broad coalition of local and national conservation groups delivered comments from more than 50,000 Alaskan residents and people around the country this week to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, opposing a proposed land swap that would clear the way for an expensive, destructive road to be built through sensitive wetlands and a protected Wilderness area in the heart of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
The California State Legislature passed a highly controversial bill (AB 1073) today allowing a single massive solar-energy project to bypass mandatory environmental reviews by state and local regulatory agencies.
The National Marine Fisheries Service today proposed new protections for sea turtles that would require escape hatches in shrimp nets used by boats that operate in the shallow, inshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico and southeast Atlantic Ocean. The proposal is the result of an agreement conservation groups reached with the Fisheries Service to advance protections for imperiled sea turtles.
On May 5, 2011, Congress used a budget rider to remove the Northern Rockies wolf from the list of endangered species. For the past year, Idaho and Montana have been in charge of managing wolves in their states. Idaho in particular has pursued very aggressive strategies, including allowing very liberal hunting and trapping seasons during which more than 375 wolves have been killed so far. Dozens more wolves have been killed in Idaho as a result of targeted removals in response to livestock losses and to artificially boost elk herds in select areas.
In 2011, Defenders spent over $300,000 to support more than 100 coexistence projects in nine states and Mexico, focusing on seven different species.
The U.S. Department of the Interior has announced plans today to extend "take" permits for bald and golden eagles from five years to up to 30 years.
A controversial wind-energy project threatening endangered California condors and golden eagles in California is the target of a federal lawsuit filed today by the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, and the Sierra Club against the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management.
The Wilderness Society and Defenders of Wildlife issued the following statement after the U.S. Forest Service denied an appeal challenging the proposed Deerfield wind project.
Four conservation groups today announced support for large-scale solar power projects in Imperial County, Calif., promoting well-sited clean energy development. The Sierra Club, Audubon California, Defenders of Wildlife and the Natural Resources Defense Council all support the projects.