Suit Targets Trump’s OK of Ultra-Deepwater Drilling

The Center for Biological Diversity and allies just sued President Donald Trump’s Interior Department for approving BP’s new ultra-deepwater oil-drilling project, Kaskida, in the Gulf of Mexico. The project endangers Gulf wildlife, residents, fishing, and tourism.

This is BP’s first completely new Gulf oilfield since its 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, the worst oil spill in U.S. history — and Kaskida will be even riskier. The project’s development proposal was significantly flawed, failing to show that the company can drill safely under the project’s extreme conditions or that it has equipment sufficient to stop a blowout from its proposed wells.

“It's appalling that the Trump administration has authorized this deepwater-drilling project without having information critical to preventing harm to marine life,” said Center attorney Rachel Mathews. “That will put Rice's whales, sea turtles, and other Gulf wildlife at terrible risk. Ultra-deepwater drilling is ultra-dangerous. Full stop.”

Join the fight with a donation to our Future for the Wild Fund.

Endangered Species Act Attack Defeated

We had a great reason to celebrate this Earth Day.

Following outcry from both Republicans and Democrats — and a flood of comments from Center supporters — on Wednesday House Speaker Mike Johnson pulled the ESA Amendments Act of 2025. The sweeping legislation, sponsored by an Arkansas Republican, would’ve gutted the Endangered Species Act, condemning hundreds of animals and plants to extinction.

“This is a huge win for whales, sea turtles, monarch butterflies, and many other species Americans love,” said Stephanie Kurose, the Center’s deputy director of government affairs. “And a wake-up call to Rep. Westerman that not even his own colleagues support his extreme attacks on wildlife.”

Our thanks to everyone who spoke out.

Precedent-Setting Blow to the Boundary Waters

Using an obscure law called the Congressional Review Act, last week the Senate voted 50-49 to pass a resolution lifting a 20-year mining ban in the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. It’s dismal news for this breathtaking reach of pristine waterways and forests, along with the 150,000-plus people who visit every year — not to mention iconic species like gray wolves and Canada lynx.

With the “success” of this reckless tactic, public lands across the United States are extra vulnerable: Republican Sen. Mike Lee has already proposed a similar resolution to cancel the resource management plan for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah.

“This clearly goes against the science and the administration’s own agencies,” the Center’s Marc Fink told Grist in this informative new piece. “We’ll definitely keep fighting.”

If two more Republicans had voted “no,” the Boundary Waters would still be protected — proving that every vote counts.

Don’t let it happen again: Tell your members of Congress to reject any resolution overturning Grand Staircase-Escalante protections.

Native Youth Name Rare Arizona Ocelot

Working with the Center, Tohono O’odham students in Southern Arizona have named a rare wild ocelot Himdam, or “traveler” in the O’odham language. As part of a program called Voices of Our Youth, the students learned all about ocelots.

Himdam has been caught on camera several times in the Sky Islands region since June 2024 — including in the Whetstone Mountains by the Center.

“A wild ocelot is wandering through the mountains near our land, and his story is still being written,” said student Isaac Valencia. “Learning about how he crossed valleys, highways, and entire mountain ranges showed us how wild and special the Sky Islands are.”

Watch and share our Himdam video on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Birds, Butterflies, Sharks, and Toads Make Gains

What do a toad in Nevada, a shark in the south Atlantic, a butterfly in Jamaica, and two songbirds in California have in common? They all edged closer to safety over the past month thanks to Center work.

Imperiled Railroad Valley toads, who live in a single spring-fed wetland, are the subject of a new agreement we reached with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service setting a 2028 deadline for a decision on their federal protection. Tope sharks off the coast of southern Africa and in the southwest Atlantic — being egregiously overfished — were just proposed for protection by NOAA Fisheries, while Jamaican kite swallowtails were proposed by the Fish and Wildlife Service. The gorgeous flutter-bys are plagued by habitat destruction and international trade.

And in California, in response to our petition, the state moved to protect Bendire’s and LeConte’s thrashers under the state’s Endangered Species Act.

Revelator: How to Help Insects

The world depends on healthy insect populations. As climate change and other threats cause their declines, Melissa Gaskill reports on simple actions that can give them a much-needed boost.

Read more at The Revelator.

And if you haven’t yet, make sure you’re subscribed to The Revelator’s free weekly newsletter.

That's Wild: Scammers Bring in the Bears

In California, apparently, even financial fraudsters want a shot at acting glory — which in one recent case meant dressing up in a bear suit and pretending to rip up the interior of a luxury vehicle to garner an insurance payout.

After supplying subpar surveillance video of the purported bear-car encounter to back up their bogus claim, three people have now been sentenced to jail for the fraud attempt (which happened about a year ago). On top of the claim that the “bear” had rummaged around in a Rolls-Royce, the miscreants filed second and third claims alleging ursine malfeasance in two other cars — both humble Mercedes.

Watch the bear-acting audition for yourself.

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Photo credits: Green sea turtle by P. Lindgren/Wikimedia Commons; monarch butterfly by Thomas Dunkerton/USFWS; gray wolf courtesy NPS, lynx by J. Mills/NPS; screenshot of ocelot video by Russ McSpadden/Center for Biological Diversity; LeConte's thrasher by Norm Pillsbury, Railroad Valley toad by Yinan Li/iNaturalist; bee by Michael Siebert/Pixabay, car damage and bear suit courtesy California Department of Insurance.

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