SAN FRANCISCO― A federal court has ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service illegally withdrew its proposal to list the bi-state sage grouse as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley on Monday vacated the agency’s 2020 withdrawal of the bird from the proposed listing, reinstated the 2013 proposal to list […]
WildEarth Guardians
Posted inUS
Biden administration to restart oil, gas leasing on public lands
WASHINGTON– The Bureau of Land Management announced today it will resume oil and gas leasing on public lands, violating Biden’s campaign promise to end new oil and gas leasing and locking in new extraction that thwarts his pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Despite its pause on new oil and gas leasing and drilling on […]
Posted inUS
Judge restores gray wolf protections, reviving federal recovery efforts
OAKLAND, CA—Today, a federal court restored Endangered Species Act protections for the gray wolf after they were eliminated by the Trump administration in 2020. The ruling orders the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to resume recovery efforts for the imperiled species. Today’s decision redesignates the gray wolf as a species threatened with extinction in the […]
Posted inOp-Ed
John Horning: Gray wolves get their day in court
This morning, oral arguments start for our lawsuit challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to prematurely strip gray wolves of Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections in the contiguous United States. The legal hearing is happening today in federal district court in Oakland, California—but the results of our lawsuit could have far-ranging implications for wolves. The […]
Posted inEnviro
Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill directs vital funding to national forests roads
WASHINGTON, D.C. November 9, 2021 – With the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, soon to be signed into law by President Biden, national forest roads and trails will finally get much needed attention. The legislation permanently authorizes the Forest Service Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Program and provides vital funding. Recognizing […]
Posted inUS
Indigenous-Directed Short Film Asks Interior Secretary Haaland to Return Federal Protection to Gray Wolves (VIDEO)
The Global Indigenous Council today released Family, a short film highlighting the deep cultural connection Indigenous nations share with wolves and the major threats currently facing imperiled wolves in the lower 48 states. Family appeals to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to reverse President Trump’s decision to remove federal protection from gray wolves in the lower 48 states […]
Posted inEnviro
Groups to Biden: Halt new oil drilling, cancel Trump leases on public lands
WASHINGTON, June 10, 2021— Climate, indigenous, and conservation groups today called on the Biden administration to halt new drilling permits and to cancel unlawful Trump-era oil and gas leases on public lands. The letter urges the Interior Department to enact a range of interim actions to protect the climate, public lands, oceans and communities pending […]
Posted inCalifornia
Emergency federal protections sought for imperiled Joshua tree
Washington, DC –WildEarth Guardians has submitted emergency petitions (here and here) to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to immediately provide federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection for both the eastern and western species of Joshua tree, icons of California’s Mojave Desert. Guardians submitted these petitions to list the Joshua tree on an emergency basis under […]
Posted inUS
Guardians joins 500 groups in support of confirming Rep. Deb Haaland as Interior Secretary
Washington, D.C. February 18, 2021—WildEarth Guardians has joined nearly 500 national and regional organizations representing millions of people, including Native American, environmental justice, Western communities and outdoor business, in urging U.S. Senators in party and committee leadership to confirm U.S. Representative Deb Haaland as the next Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Senate […]
Posted inEnviro
Report: Forest Service routinely skirts environmental protection laws
Missoula, MT, August 27, 2020 – The U.S. Forest Service routinely skirts environmental protection laws when proposing industrial logging projects across vast areas of important fish and wildlife habitat, according to a report released today by WildEarth Guardians. Logging harms a range of fish and wildlife species such as bull trout, Canada lynx, Mexican spotted owl, Utah […]
Posted inEnviro
WildEarth Guardians Fighting for Iconic Joshua Trees in Court
LOS ANGELES, CA November 5, 2019 – On the heels of the 25th anniversary of Joshua Tree National Park, Western conservation group WildEarth Guardians (Guardians) is taking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to court over its refusal to protect the Joshua tree under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Guardians petitioned the tree, an […]
Posted inCalifornia
Trump Administration Refuses to Protect Iconic Joshua Trees
Washington, D.C.. August 14, 2019 – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) today published a notice indicating it will not protect the Joshua tree, an icon of the Southern California desert, under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). WildEarth Guardians (Guardians), the conservation group that petitioned the tree for listing as “threatened” in 2015, condemned […]
Posted inCalifornia
New Research Supports Legal Protections for Joshua Trees
Washington, D.C. Aug. 5, 2019— A new scientific study indicates that under “business-as-usual” scenarios that fail to address climate change, Joshua trees will almost completely disappear from their namesake park by 2099. WildEarth Guardians submitted the study to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today in support of the conservation group’s legal petition to protect […]
Posted inEnviro
Trump Administration Refuses to Ban Wildlife-killing M-44 ‘Cyanide Bombs’
WASHINGTON November 26, 2018 – The Environmental Protection Agency has refused to ban M-44s, commonly known as cyanide bombs, which cause agonizing deaths for thousands of animals every year. The agency’s decision comes in response to a 2017 petition authored by WildEarth Guardians and the Center for Biological Diversity and The devices are used to kill […]
Posted inEnviro
Judge Upholds Endangered Species Act Protections for Gunnison Sage Grouse
GUNNISON, Colo. September 28, 2018 – Late yesterday a federal judge rejected efforts to remove Endangered Species Act protection from the Gunnison sage grouse, upholding the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s determination that the species warranted protection under the Act. The Gunnison sage-grouse — an imperiled bird in Colorado and Utah known for its elaborate […]
Posted inUS
Western Advocacy Group Expresses Disappointment in Not Guilty Verdicts for Militants
PORTLAND, OR, Oct. 28, 2016 – WildEarth Guardians expressed disappointment with today’s not guilty verdict for Ammon and Ryan Bundy and five other militants who seized control of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. The western environmental advocacy group simultaneously pleaded for the safety of employees at public land management agencies. “I am extremely […]
Posted inUS
Landmark Settlement Reins in Rogue Federal Wildlife Killing Program
MISSOULA, MT, Oct. 10, 2016 – A federal court approved a groundbreaking settlement agreement between WildEarth Guardians and the federal wildlife killing program, Wildlife Services, late last week. The settlement comes over a year after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed that WildEarth Guardians’ interests are injured by the program’s activities and the organization […]