Suit Targets Trump Plan to Drain Mojave Desert

The Center for Biological Diversity and our allies just sued the Trump administration over its greenlighting of a private company’s plan to resurrect a defunct oil and gas pipeline to transport and sell groundwater out of California’s already-parched Mojave Desert.

Operating the pipeline, which crosses Mojave Trails National Monument and other protected federal land, would dry up freshwater springs desert plants and animals desperately need.

“The Trump administration is once again handing out favors to its cronies determined to suck the Mojave Desert dry,” said the Center’s Lisa Belenky. “Desert creatures like tortoises and bighorn sheep won’t survive if key springs and seeps they need are lost. That’s why we're determined to keep fighting this ill-conceived project.”

Court Shrugs at Huge Public Land Giveaway in Alaska

More than 2 million acres of public land in Alaska, stretching from the Yukon River to the Brooks Range in the Arctic, have been federally protected for the past half-century. Now the Interior Department has stripped away those protections and handed them over to the state of Alaska to facilitate mining and roadbuilding — and unfortunately a federal court just dismissed parts of a lawsuit by the Center and partners challenging that decision.

“This area is far too important to Alaska’s communities and wildlife to let it be treated like a pawn in Trump’s reckless public-land exploitation fantasies,” said Rebecca Noblin, a senior attorney at the Center. “If this incredible habitat for fish, birds, and caribou is bulldozed for unnecessary extraction projects, the damage would be incalculable.”

Help us keep defending this precious place with a gift to the Future for the Wild Fund.

Keep Ocean Mining Out of Virginia

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management recently announced plans to open federal waters off Virginia to industrial seabed mining, which uses heavy machinery to dredge the ocean floor. It would be the first time this disruptive form of mining has ever been allowed in public waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

The agency’s considering a proposal from a private company targeting 1.77 million offshore acres, from Virginia's eastern shore to the continental shelf.

If the proposal’s allowed to move forward, it could destroy crucial marine habitats and harm protected species like North Atlantic right whales, fin whales, Kemp's ridley sea turtles, and leatherback sea turtles.

Tell the agency to reject this and any other proposals to mine Virginia's coast.

Army Corps Sued Over Wetland-Wrecking Pipelines

The Center and allies have sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over its plan to fast-track construction of oil and gas pipelines through wetlands, streams, and rivers across the country.

The Corps’ latest issuing of a nationwide pipeline permit — previously struck down by federal courts — would destroy wildlife habitat and endanger drinking water from coast to coast. In 2020 the court said the Corps has to consult wildlife agencies to make sure federally protected species (from critically endangered sturgeons to hundreds of birds) aren’t hurt by the permit program. The Corps ignored the order and reissued the permit without considering its harms.

Fighting Drilling in the Conecuh National Forest

The Center and partners have filed a legal appeal opposing the Trump administration’s plans to allow oil and gas drilling throughout the 83,000-acre Conecuh National Forest in Alabama.

The Conecuh is one of the most biodiverse forests in the country, sheltering 19 federally protected animals and plants, including eastern indigo snakes, Escambia map turtles, and 300-pound Gulf sturgeons.

“It’s appalling that the government is barreling forward to sacrifice this forest to the oil and gas industry for profit,” said Center lawyer Lindsay Reeves. “The Conecuh is a biological and recreational oasis that needs to be protected — not plundered.”

The Revelator: Trees That Climb Mountains

Birds have been burying Jeffrey pine seeds up high for thousands of years. Now those seeds are sprouting, and their species is moving uphill — not slowly, like many other trees, but by leaps and bounds.

Read more in The Revelator.

And if you haven’t yet, subscribe to The Revelator’s free weekly newsletter for more wildlife and conservation news.

That’s Wild: Bumblebees Making Faces

A new study featuring slow-motion video reveals that bumblebees have expressions for what looks like delight vs. dislike: When they taste a sweet liquid, they keep licking even after they’ve finished drinking, repeatedly sticking out their tongue (technically, their glossa). Conversely, after eating something salty, they wipe their mouths and shake their heads.

Check out the charming video.

Have a friend who'd like this email?

Follow Us

Center for Biological Diversity | Saving Life on Earth

Donate now to support the Center's work.

Photo credits: Bighorn sheep by Neal Herbert/NPS; caribou courtesy NPS; North Atlantic right whale with calf courtesy Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (taken under NOAA permit #20556-01); pallid sturgeon by Ryan Hagerty/USFWS; eastern indigo snake by Nicole Vidal/USFWS, Escambia map turtle by Eekhoorntje/Wikimedia Commons; Sierra Nevada mountains by Karen Mockler; bee courtesy The Bee Lab at Southern Medical University.

View our privacy policy.

Center for Biological Diversity
P.O. Box 710
Tucson, AZ 85702
United States