(Juneau) — The State of Alaska and the North Slope Borough took action to convey their disagreement with the rejection by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) of a joint Endangered Species Act (ESA) delisting petition for the Arctic ringed seal. The two entities submitted a letter June 28th notifying NMFS that they intend to […]
9th Circuit Overturns Decision That Walruses Don’t Require Endangered Species Act Protection SAN FRANCISCO— The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the Trump administration’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service improperly denied Endangered Species Act protections to the Pacific walrus. The Wildlife Service found in 2011 that the Pacific walrus warranted protection because […]
“The delisting of gray wolves is the latest causality of the Trump administration’s willful ignorance of the biodiversity crisis and scientific facts.” A family of gray wolves tends to their pups. After 45 years, gray wolves were delisted from the Endangered Species Act by the Trump administration on January 4, 2021. (Photo: Chad Horwedel/Flickr/cc) Wildlife advocates […]
Alexander Archipelago Wolves Threatened by Trapping, Forest Clearcutting SITKA, Alaska— The Center for Biological Diversity, Alaska Rainforest Defenders and Defenders of Wildlife petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today to give Endangered Species Act protections to the Alexander Archipelago wolf in Southeast Alaska. This rare gray wolf subspecies, which inhabits the coastal rainforests of Southeast Alaska […]
Whale Population Plummeting in Project Area, New Federal Data Show ANCHORAGE, Alaska— Conservation groups Friday threatened to sue the Trump administration for approving oil exploration in Alaska’s Cook Inlet after new federal data found a dramatic decline in the area’s population of endangered beluga whales. The formal notice of intent to file an Endangered Species Act lawsuit […]
U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder with the Department of Justice announced Thursday that two Alaskan Fishermen have been charged in relation to the killing of 15 Steller Sea Lions found dead during the 2015 Copper River Salmon season. The skipper of the F/V Iron Hide, Jon Nichols, age 31 of Cordova, and a crewmember aboard […]
WASHINGTON— The U.S. Supreme Court today declined a challenge to federal protection of bearded seals in Alaska under the Endangered Species Act. The National Marine Fisheries Service listed the species as threatened in 2012 upon concluding that climate change will destroy the sea-ice habitat the seals need to survive. The decision comes just two weeks […]
(Juneau) — Cook Inlet beluga whale reproduction, survival, foraging, and habitat use will be the focus of two new Alaska Department of Fish and Game-led research projects to identify factors impeding the species’ recovery from a decline that started 20 years ago. The research will be funded by grants received through the NOAA Endangered Species […]
WHITEFISH, Mont.— The Western Governors’ Association endorsed a policy resolution today that, if adopted into law, would substantially weaken the core of the Endangered Species Act. Policy resolution 2017-11 recommends delaying lifesaving protections for at-risk wildlife and curtailing the ability of ordinary citizens to challenge agency decisions in court. The resolution would weaken critical habitat […]