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Bald eagle
Center for     Biological     Diversity   

Unprecedented: Trump Guts the Endangered Species Act

We've never seen an attack like this on the Endangered Species Act.

On Monday the Trump administration finalized sweeping changes to the Act that weaken habitat protections, block climate change from being addressed as a threat to vanishing wildlife, and create new barriers to preventing extinctions. Trump's rules have one goal: to make it easy for industry to plunder our lands and waters for private profit — endangered species be damned.

The Endangered Species Act is the world's strongest law for saving species from extinction. It's the reason we still share this planet with bald eagles and whooping cranes and gray wolves.

You can be sure the Center for Biological Diversity will stop this cowardly, vicious move with all the strength we've got. We're counting on you to stand with us in the historic fight ahead.

Take action now: Urge your member of Congress to defend the Act in this time of runaway extinction. And please consider supporting our court battle with a donation to our Endangered Species Act Protection Fund. Please consider supporting our court battle with a donation to our Endangered Species Act Protection Fund.

Green sea turtle

Suit Launched to Save Green Sea Turtle Habitat

Green sea turtles cross oceans to nest on beaches that soon could be inundated as the seas rise. The gentle animals are also being hurt and killed by plastic pollution. So on Tuesday the Center and allies launched a lawsuit to force the Trump administration to protect their habitat.

"The recovery of most green sea turtle populations is a beacon of hope in our changing oceans, but we've got to protect the places they live," said Jaclyn Lopez, our Florida director.

Get more from Maui Now.

Court Approves Ban on Cyanide Bombs in Wyoming Forests

Coyote

Days after Trump's EPA gave a thumbs-up to the ongoing use of sodium cyanide in M-44s (or "cyanide bombs"), forest creatures across 10 million acres in Wyoming caught a break from the lethal devices.

A judge has approved an agreement, secured by the Center and allies, to ban M-44s across the state's national forests. It also requires the federal program "Wildlife Services" — which uses cyanide bombs — to analyze the impacts of its killing of coyotes, bobcats and other Wyoming wildlife. And new trapping restrictions will help protect grizzlies and other animals. Read more.

Wolf pups from the Lassen pack

Adorable news: At least three pups have joined the Lassen pack — the only confirmed gray wolf family currently living in California. A trail cam captured footage of three pups playing, exploring and practicing their howls. Watch the video and learn more about the pups at KQED News.

Joshua tree

Take Action: Save Joshua Tree From Sprawl

One of our best-loved national parks, Southern California's Joshua Tree, is threatened by plans to build a city next door.

The sprawl development would bring more than 25,000 people to an isolated spot that's now home to vulnerable animals like desert tortoises, bighorn sheep and kit foxes. It would drain aquifers, punch a hole in a wildlife corridor, and destroy a key stopover place for migratory birds.

The Riverside County Planning Commission is poised to make its final decision on approving the development. Take one minute now to urge it to say no and protect the area's wild character.

Dairy cows

California Court Roundup: Dams, Dairies and Dirty Air

In the world's fifth-largest economy, the Center's legal team kept busy this week defending roadless areas, forests, wildlife and public health. We led a coalition that intervened in a federal proceeding to fight a dam project in the Santa Ana Mountains above Orange County. The dam would flood oak woodlands and threaten vulnerable species like the Quino checkerspot butterfly and Stephens' kangaroo rat.

Farther up the coast, in Ventura County, we filed suit over the Trump administration's failure to reduce dangerous, asthma-causing smog.

And in central California, we reached an agreement with Tulare County, the biggest milk producer in the United States, to curb climate-harming methane emissions from the county's more than 1 million cattle.

Borderlands map

Last month's Supreme Court decision that OK'd the funding of Trump's border wall put our wildlife refuges, wilderness areas and national parks in the crosshairs. Some of the country's most endangered species will be pushed closer to extinction. With new wall construction imminent, we filed a legal challenge and — just this week — the Trump administration announced delays in construction in some parts of Arizona while our case is heard. The fight, of course, is far from over. See what's at stake on the front lines with our interactive map.

We Just Sued Trump Over His Dirty Power Plan

Smokestack

On Wednesday we and our partners sued Trump's EPA to overturn its Dirty Power Plan and reinstate the Obama-era Clean Power Plan. The agency failed to meet its legal obligations under the Clean Air Act when it repealed and replaced this set of policies.

"The Dirty Power Plan's only purpose is to make fossil fuel CEOs richer, no matter how deadly and dangerous that is for the rest of us," said Center senior attorney Clare Lakewood.

Read more in our press release.

Saving Tropical Reefs Through Coral Sex

Coral lab

Coral reefs are one of the Earth's most diverse ecosystems, covering just .01 percent of the seafloor but boasting 25 percent of the ocean's biodiversity. They also play an outsized economic role for humans, generating about $375 billion yearly. But, as you probably know, reefs are in deep trouble from climate change, ocean acidification and more.

Now some scientists working to bring back reefs have a new focus: coral sex. Read more in The Revelator and sign up for The Revelator's newsletter.

Kangaroos

Wild & Weird: Snowaroos in Australia

Parts of Australia recently experienced rare winter snowfall, and while the cold front caused flight cancellations and power outages in about 10,000 homes, the country's kangaroos looked delighted. Check out this video of a mob of joyful roos bouncing through a winter wonderland on Facebook or YouTube.

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Photo credits: Bald eagle courtesy USFWS; green sea turtle by skeeze/Pixabay; coyote courtesy NPS; Lassen pack courtesy CDFW; Joshua trees by Rick Mick/Center for Biological Diversity; {{end}}{{ if equals(StateOrProvince,'CA') }}dairy cows by Russ Allison Loar/Flickr; borderlands map courtesy Center for Biological Diversity; smokestack by Billy Wilson/Flickr; coral lab by Tara Lohan/The Revelator; kangaroo footage courtesy Stephen Grenfell.


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