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Candy darter
Center for     Biological     Diversity   

Victory: Protection for Rare, Colorful Fish and Habitat

Reason to celebrate: A vividly colored fish called the candy darter has been protected under the Endangered Species Act. More than 300 miles of streams in Virginia and West Virginia have also been proposed for protection.

The feds' decision follows a petition and lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity and allies.

The darter has disappeared from at least half its range because of pollution, plus competition and hybridization with other fish. It was first deemed in need of protection in 1982. The Center sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2015 to get a court-binding date for a decision.

"Nothing's sweeter than imperiled animals finally getting help to avoid extinction," said the Center's Tierra Curry.

Read more and remember: These kinds of lifesaving wins don't happen without your support. Consider donating today.

Woolsey Fire

Report Says Climate Change's Costs Are Already Vast

A major report released last week concludes that climate change has already caused irreparable harm in the United States. It has cost human lives and huge sums of money through deadlier storms, heat waves, wildfires and the spread of disease.

The 1,000-page study, produced by 13 federal agencies, also states that more devastating warming is coming unless we rapidly reduce our fossil fuel use. Asked to respond to the report, President Trump replied, "I don't believe it."

Said Kassie Siegel, director of the Center's Climate Law Institute: "Trump's own scientists have pulled the fire alarm, but Trump is just laughing maniacally and pouring more gasoline on the fire. House Democrats must reject Trump's suicidal climate denial."

Read more at ThinkProgress.

The Revelator: Indigenous Land Management Is Key

Madre de Dios River, Peru

Amazonian indigenous leaders just announced an ambitious proposal to protect a swath of forest and wetland the size of Mexico. Perfect timing for The Revelator to release a piece on the crucial importance of native-land stewardship for the future of the world's climate and biodiversity.

Read the article and sign up to receive The Revelator's weekly newsletter.

Fox

Trump's EPA Won't Ban Wildlife-killing Cyanide Bombs

The Trump administration has refused to ban dangerous M-44s. These "cyanide bombs" cause agonizing deaths for thousands of animals every year.

The Center and WildEarth Guardians petitioned in 2017 to ban the devices. They're used to kill coyotes, foxes and wild dogs, supposedly to address conflicts with livestock. But they also pose serious risks of injury and death to bystanders.

"Cyanide traps are indiscriminate killers that just can't be used safely," said the Center's Collette Adkins. "We'll keep fighting for a permanent nationwide ban — the only way to protect people, pets and imperiled wildlife from the EPA's poison."

Read more.

Candy darter

Take a moment to admire the pretty candy darter, which just received protection under the Endangered Species Act after legal action by the Center. Video available on Facebook and YouTube.

Caribou

Trump Moves to Expand Oil and Gas Leasing in Alaskan Wild

Trump's Bureau of Land Management is planning to strip protection from "special areas" in northern Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve, opening wildlife habitat to more oil and gas leasing. Some areas harbor the world's largest caribou herds and flocks of migratory birds.

The Center and partners sued in February because the BLM didn't study the wildlife and climate-change effects of its drastic fossil-fuel leasing expansion in the reserve. We're awaiting a decision.

"We should protect our last remaining wilderness areas, not industrialize them," said Miyoko Sakashita, our oceans program director. "Keeping northern Alaska wild helps avert climate chaos and the extinction crisis."

Get more from Bloomberg.

Center Fights Trump Plan to Scrap Key Conservation Docs

Bald eagle

The Center and allies this week called on the National Archives to nix a Department of the Interior proposal to destroy records on endangered species and public lands.

Thousands of documents could be at stake. And thousands of species.

"The Trump administration wants to bury science and hide how mining, drilling and logging on public lands devastate our precious natural spaces and push species closer toward extinction," said the Center's Meg Townsend. Read more.

Op-ed: Newsom Must Do Better Than Brown on Fossil Fuels

Gavin Newsom

Gov. Jerry Brown's refusal to curb California's dirty oil and gas production left a gaping hole in the state's climate policy, writes the Center's Kassie Siegel in CALmatters.

To be the climate hero we need, Governor-elect Gavin Newsom must halt new drilling and plan a fair phaseout of fossil fuel extraction in California.

Read the op-ed now.

Beaver

Wild & Weird: Beaver Shows Off Tree-climbing Skills

Beavers are excellent dam-builders, but when it comes to climbing trees ... well, see for yourself in our new video on Facebook and YouTube.

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Photo credits: Candy darter courtesy USFWS; Woolsey Fire by Dave Malkoff/Flickr; Madre de Dios River by katieandtommy/Flickr; fox by etnad2/Flickr; candy darter by Todd Crail/Univerity of Toledo; caribou by frostnip/Flickr; bald eagle by Alan D. Wilson/Nature's Pics Online; Gavin Newsom by Thomas Hawk/Flickr; beaver courtesy USFWS.


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