Tag Archives: Endangered Species Act

Taking ‘Wrecking Ball’ to Endangered Species Act, Trump Administration Opens Door for Corporate Attack on Vulnerable Wildlife

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If Interior Department’s proposals are approved, “Zinke will go down in history as the extinction secretary”

By Julia Conley, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 7-19-2018

The Trump administration’s rollback of endangered species protections could bring animals including the California condor closer to extinction, after years of efforts by environmental advocates to increase their populations. (Photo: Pacific Southwest Region USFWS/Flickr/cc)

Gutting the law that has protected the bald eagle, the American crocodile, the gray wolf, and countless other animals from extinction over the past four decades, the Trump administration gave its latest handout to corporate interests on Thursday when it unveiled sweeping changes to the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

“These regulations are the heart of how the Endangered Species Act is implemented. Imperiled species depend on them for their very lives,” said Jamie Rappaport Clark, a former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who is now president of Defenders of Wildlife, in a statement. “The signal being sent by the Trump administration is clear: Protecting America’s wildlife and wild lands is simply not on their agenda.” Continue reading →

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Citing ‘Common Good,’ Nearly 1,500 Scientists Demand Congress Shield Endangered Species Act From GOP Attacks

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Their call comes on Endangered Species Day and as the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers continuously work to roll back environmental regulations

By Jessica Corbett, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 5-18-2018

“Despite significant recovery successes,” according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the black-footed ferret “remains one of the most endangered mammals in North America.” (Photo: Kimberly Fraser/USFWS Mountain-Prairie/Flickr/cc)

In honor of Endangered Species Day on Friday, 1,452 American scientists sent a letter to Congress demanding that they “protect the scientific foundation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and reject any attempts to weaken or compromise the role of science in protecting species.”

The letter (pdf) comes amid the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers‘ war on science, and particularly in response to their attempts—including through the “disastrous” GOP Farm Bill that was defeated on Friday—to undercut or strip away key elements of the ESA, landmark legislation enacted in 1973 that aims “to conserve to the extent practicable the various species of fish or wildlife and plants facing extinction.” Continue reading →

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World Animal Day Takes ‘Dark’ Turn as Interior Dept Denies Protections for 25 Species

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While Trump administration declines to list several species, GOP-led House committee advances legislation to “cripple” Endangered Species Act

By Jessica Corbett, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 10-4-2017

The Pacific walrus is one of 25 species the Department of the Interior denied to list as endangered on Wednesday. (Photo: Joel Garlich Miller/U.S. FWS/Pixnio)

As Republicans in the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee advanced legislation that would “cripple” the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on Wednesday—which happened to be World Animal Day—the Trump administration’s Interior Department denied petitions to protect 25 species.

The department’s agency charged with evaluating such petitions, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), released a report (pdf) detailing why it denied each request, asserting that FWS staff had conducted “a thorough review of the best available scientific and commercial information.” Continue reading →

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Biologists Warn Half of All Species to Face Extinction by 2100, as GOP Pushes to Destroy Protections

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Days after Republican lawmakers speechified about dismantling the Endangered Species Act, biologists ring alarm bells about global mass extinction

By Nika Knight, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 2-27-2017

The endangered black-footed ferret is one of many species afforded protections under the 1973 Endangered Species Act. (Photo: J. Michael Lockhart/U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service/flickr/cc)

Today, 20 percent of all species are at risk of being wiped out, scientists at a Vatican conference on biodiversity warn, and that number may rise to nearly 50 percent by the end of the century.

“The living fabric of the world […] is slipping through our fingers without our showing much sign of caring,” warned the conference organizers.

Biologists, ecologists, and economists traveled to Rome from around the world for the workshop titled “How to Save the Natural World on Which We Depend,” which begins Monday, to strategize together on how to limit the mass extinction event caused by rampant over-development, climate change, overpopulation, and unsustainable agricultural practices. Continue reading →

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