Press Releases
Use the dropdown boxes below to find press releases related to specific animals, conservation issues, and regions.
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November 9, 2010
Washington, D.C. (November 9, 2010) – In response to action by leading U.S. environmental groups, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking action to keep pollution from coal plant smokestacks out of America’s waterways.
October 25, 2010
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (October 25, 2010) – Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced today that he has permitted a 1,000 megawatt solar power plant – and the largest “fast-track” project to date – on public lands in southern California. At peak output, the solar farm could generate enough clean electricity to power more than 300,000 homes, according to project developers.
October 20, 2010
Today marks the six-month anniversary of the explosion aboard the BP Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that caused the death of 11 workers and initiated the worst oil disaster the U.S. has ever seen. Congress has yet to pass legislation (S. 3663) that ensures safer operations in any water depth, provides better spill response, lifts the existing liability cap and secures funding for restoration efforts in the Gulf.
October 20, 2010
Conservation groups today filed suit against oil giant BP under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for the ongoing unlawful harm or killing of endangered and threatened wildlife caused by the company’s massive Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.
October 18, 2010
WASHINGTON, DC (October 18, 2010) -- Idaho Gov. “Butch” Otter notified the Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar today that Idaho will no longer manage wolves as the designated agent of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
October 14, 2010
The federal Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force today delivered a report to President Obama affirming the need to develop a national strategy for helping wildlife and natural resources adapt to the harmful impacts of climate change.
October 12, 2010
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) Alaska office, formerly the Minerals Management Service, today released a draft supplemental environmental impact statement for offshore oil and gas Lease Sale 193 in the Chukchi Sea in America’s Arctic Ocean. The statement comes just two months after a federal judge tossed out the Bush-era environmental impact statement and on the same day Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced plans to lift the moratorium on offshore oil drilling.
October 12, 2010
The Obama administration today lifted its moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, more than a month before the scheduled end date. The administration has not adequately addressed failures to comply with environmental laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act.
October 6, 2010
The National Marine Fisheries Service announced today that it will revise critical habitat for North Atlantic right whales, an endangered species that clings to survival with less than 400 individuals remaining. The action comes in response to a federal lawsuit filed earlier this year by The Humane Society of the United States, Defenders of Wildlife, Center for Biological Diversity and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.
October 5, 2010
California continues to lead the national effort in developing clean, renewable energy with the Interior Department’s approval of two solar projects today.
The Interior Department’s release of two Records of Decision for Chevron’s Lucerne Valley and Tessera Solar’s Imperial Valley solar power projects demonstrates the importance of proper siting and mitigation for renewable projects. It also highlights the value of a unique collaboration among project developers, federal and state agencies, and conservation organizations working to produce clean energy in an environmentally-responsible way.
Defenders of Wildlife, Natural Resources Defense Council, The Wilderness Society and other partners, advocated for modifications to the projects to ensure their development while lessening some of the projects’ potential impacts on wildlife, natural resources and the environment.