Cloning makes three: Two more endangered ferrets are gene copies of critter frozen in 1980s
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says two more black-footed ferrets have been cloned from the genes used for the first clone of an endangered species in the U.S. These three slinky predators are genetically identical to a single animal frozen back in the 1980s.
On the Texas-Mexico border, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gives an owl protected status, seeks to declare two mussel species endangered
Wildlife groups have long lobbied for increased protection for the cactus ferruginous pygmy owl. The agency says the mussels species are threatened by reduced flow and poor water quality in the Rio Grande.
Biden administration moves to restore endangered species protections dropped by Trump
The Biden administration has proposed new rules for protecting imperiled plants and animals as officials move to reverse changes under former President Donald Trump that weakened application of the Endangered Species Act.
Female Mexican gray wolf released into wild in Arizona in move to help wolf's recovery
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says a female Mexican gray wolf has been returned to the wilds of Arizona after she was found wandering in northern New Mexico outside a zone created for recovery of her subspecies.
SpaceX launch in South Texas caused fire, blasted concrete chunks and stainless steel thousands of feet away
The Space X launch on the southern tip of Texas last week caused large concrete chunks and stainless steel sheets to shoot thousands of feet away and started a fire in the Boca Chica State Park, according to a federal agency investigating the test flight.
Rare attack in Alaska renews interest in polar bear patrols
A polar bear attack that killed a mother and her 1-year-old son in far western Alaska this week underscores the risks of living alongside the world's largest land carnivores and has renewed interest in prevention programs known as bear patrols.
Feds seek to protect rare Texas plant in the path of border wall construction
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed a rule earlier this week to list the prostrate milkweed, which lives along the Texas-Mexico border, as an endangered species. The rare plant is threatened in part by border security activities, scientists say.
Endangered status proposed for Nevada flower at lithium mine
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing endangered species listing for a desert wildflower thatโs only known to exist on a remote ridge in western Nevada where an Australian company plans a lithium mine at the center of a legal battle.
Biden aims to restore species protections weakened by Trump
The Biden administration says it is canceling or reviewing a host of actions by the Trump administration to roll back protections for endangered or threatened species, with a goal of strengthening a landmark law while addressing climate change.
Scientists: Grizzlies expand turf but still need protection
Fish and Wildlife Service is a grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) in Grand Teton National Park, Wyo. Grizzly bears are slowly expanding in the northern Rocky Mountains but scientists say they need continued protections and have concluded no other areas of the country would be suitable for the fearsome animals. The Fish and Wildlife Service on Wednesday released its first assessment in almost a decade about the status of grizzly bears in the contiguous U.S. Conservationists and some university scientists have pushed to return bears to areas including Coloradoโs San Juan Mountains and Californiaโs Sierra Nevada. Grizzly bears have been protected as a threatened species in the contiguous U.S. since 1975, allowing a slow recovery in a handful of areas.
Conservationists sue to save spotted owl logging protections
FILE - In this May 8, 2003, file photo, a northern spotted owl sits on a tree branch in the Deschutes National Forest near Camp Sherman, Ore. Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit seeking to preserve protections for 3.4 million acres of northern spotted owl habitat from the US-Canadian border to northern California. Fish and Wildlife Service removed protections for the old-growth forest in the last days of the Trump administration. Democratic lawmakers called the reduction in logging protections โpotential scientific meddlingโ and called for an investigation. For decades, the federal government has been trying to save the northern spotted owl, a native bird that sparked an intense battle over logging across Washington, Oregon and California. AdThe Fish and Wildlife Service has since said the northern spotted owl warrants being moved up to the more robust โendangeredโ status because of continued population declines.
Endangered wolves sent from Arizona to Texas to aid species
In this photo provided by the Phoenix Zoo, Luna, left, and Scarlet, female Mexican gray wolves are seen at the zoo in Phoenix on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. PHOENIX โ A pack of endangered Mexican gray wolves has become two. Two wolves and three of their pups were sent from the Phoenix Zoo to the El Paso Zoo in Texas last month in a bid to bolster the number of predators. The five wolves transferred to Texas were placed in quarantine at the El Paso Zoo until the first week of February. A subspecies of the Western gray wolf, the Mexican gray wolf was listed as endangered in 1976 after being pushed to the brink of extinction.
Biden plans temporary halt of oil activity in Arctic refuge
Fish and Wildlife Service shows a herd of caribou on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska. President Joe Biden on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, signaled plans to place a temporary moratorium on oil and gas lease activities in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge after the Trump administration issued leases in a remote, rugged area considered sacred by the Indigenous Gwich'in. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP, File)JUNEAU, Alaska โ President Joe Biden's administration announced plans Wednesday for a temporary moratorium on oil and gas leasing in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge after the Trump administration issued leases in a part of the refuge considered sacred by the Indigenous Gwich'in. Details of his plans weren't immediately available, though Psaki told reporters in Washington that leases would be reviewed. โThe Biden administration must faithfully implement the law and allow for that good progress to continue,โ she said in a statement.
Trump administration slashes imperiled spotted owls' habitat
The Trump administration has slashed more than 3 million acres of protected habitat for the northern spotted owl in Oregon, Washington and northern California, much of it in prime timber locations in Oregon's coastal ranges. Fish and Wildlife Service under President Donald Trump of taking a "parting shot" at protections designed to help restore the threatened owl species. โThis revision guts protected habitat for the northern spotted owl by more than a third. The Fish and Wildlife Service has since said the northern spotted owl warrants being moved up to the more robust โendangeredโ status because of continued population declines. It was updated on Jan. 14, 2021, to correct the amount of owl habitat devastated by Oregon wildfires last fall.
US holds first oil lease sale for Alaska's Arctic refuge
Fish and Wildlife Service, caribou from the Porcupine caribou herd migrate onto the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska. The U.S. government held its first-ever oil and gas lease sale Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 for Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an event critics labeled as a bust with major oil companies staying on the sidelines and a state corporation emerging as the main bidder. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP, File)JUNEAU, Alaska โ The U.S. government held its first-ever oil and gas lease sale Wednesday for Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an event critics labeled as a bust with major oil companies staying on the sidelines and a state corporation emerging as the main bidder. Critics of the lease sale say the region is special, providing habitat for wildlife including caribou, polar bears, wolves and birds, and should be off limits to drilling. The land management agency has said under an โoptimistic, aggressive hypothetical scenario" exploration could begin within two years after a lease sale, with production eight years after a sale.
Trump administration scales back wild bird protections
โ The Trump administration on Tuesday finalized changes that weaken the government's enforcement powers under a century-old law protecting most American wild bird species, brushing aside warnings that billions of birds could die as a result. A U.S. District Court judge in August had blocked the administration's prior attempt to change how the Migratory Bird Treaty Act is enforced. The 1918 migratory bird law came after many U.S. bird populations had been decimated by hunting and poaching โ much of it for feathers for womenโs hats. Fish and Wildlife Service will not prosecute landowners, industry and other individuals for accidentally killing a migratory bird," Bernhardt said. An electric industry trade group said it expected its members would continue to take steps to reduce bird deaths.
Feds to delay seeking legal protection for monarch butterfly
FILE - In this June 2, 2019, file photo, a fresh monarch butterfly rests on a Swedish Ivy plant soon after emerging in Washington. Trump administration officials are expected to say this week whether the monarch butterfly, a colorful and familiar backyard visitor now caught in a global extinction crisis, should receive federal designation as a threatened species. Emergency action could be taken earlier, but plans now call for proposing to list the monarch under the Endangered Species Act in 2024 unless its situation improves enough to make the step unnecessary. Trump's team also has weakened protections for endangered and threatened species in its push for deregulation. โProtection for monarchs is needed โ and warranted โ now," said George Kimbrell, legal director for the Center for Food Safety.
Trump administration moves ahead on gutting bird protections
The Trump administration moved forward Friday on gutting a longstanding federal protection for the nation's birds, over objections from former federal officials and many scientists that billions more birds will likely perish as a result. Fish and Wildlife Service published its take on the proposed rollback in the Federal Register. The Trump administration maintains that the Act should apply only to birds killed or harmed intentionally, and is putting that โclarifyingโ change into regulation. The administration has continued to push the migratory bird regulation even after a federal judge in New York in August rejected the administrationโs legal rationale. Steve Holmer with the American Bird Conservancy said the change would accelerate bird population declines that have swept North America since the 1970s.
Elusive eastern black rail threatened by rising sea levels
Nicknamed the โ feathered mouse,โ the eastern black rail is about six inches long, with white-flecked dark feathers, a brown nape and brilliant red eyes. Populations have declined by more than 75% over the last 10 to 20 years, according to a wildlife service news release announcing Endangered Species Act protection. The Center for Biological Diversity first proposed protections for the eastern black rail 10 years ago and sued the government last year over its inaction. The wildlife service said that doing so would make it easier for bird lovers to find eastern black rails and potentially trample their habitat. Historically, the eastern black rail is known to exist in 35 states east of the Rocky Mountains as well as Puerto Rico, Canada, Brazil, and several countries in the Caribbean and Central America, according to the FWS.
Wildlife agency seeks to carve out areas from protections
U.S. wildlife officials on Friday proposed making it easier to carve out exemptions from habitat protections meant to save imperiled species, by placing greater weight on the potential economic benefits of development when making decisions. But wildlife advocates said it could open up areas that are crucial for endangered species survival to more drilling, mining, agriculture and logging. Its the latest move by the Trump administration in a years-long effort to repeal regulations across government that has broadly changed how the Endangered Species Act gets used. The new proposal would require federal officials to consider factors such as economic or employment losses when making habitat decisions. Those areas could be carved out from protections so long as the exclusion of a particular area does not cause extinction of a species," Fish and Wildlife officials wrote.
Governors want more say in habitat rule for at-risk wildlife
BOISE, Idaho Governors from 22 Western states and Pacific territories want a bigger say in how the Trump administration defines habitat for wildlife protected under the Endangered Species Act. The governors insist they are co-sovereigns with the federal government" and need an equal role in the decision. Once an imperiled species is listed under the act, federal officials designate critical habitat that it needs to survive. The U.S. Supreme Court called into question the definition of critical habitat in a 2018 ruling. Fish and Wildlife Service, for example, designated critical habitat earlier this year for slickspot peppergrass, a rare desert flower in southwestern Idaho, that protected about 65 square miles (170 square kilometers).
US wildlife officials aim to remove wolf protections in 2020
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. โ The Trump administration plans to lift endangered species protections for gray wolves across most of the nation by the end of the year, the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Monday. The administration also is pushing ahead with a rollback of protections for migratory birds despite a recent setback in federal court, she said. Skipwith said the Fish and Wildlife Service was still evaluating the judgeโs decision and planned to issue a final rule by the end of the year. The agency remains committed to โmaking sure weโre not criminalizing these unintentional actionsโ while stepping up efforts to protect migratory birds, she said.
2 lawsuits challenge Trump's drilling plan in Alaska refuge
Fish and Wildlife Service, caribou from the Porcupine Caribou Herd migrate onto the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska. Environmental groups wasted no time challenging the Trump administration's attempt to open part of an Alaska refuge where polar bears and caribou roam free to oil and gas drilling. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP, File)ANCHORAGE, Alaska Environmental groups wasted no time challenging the Trump administrations attempt to allow oil and gas drilling in an Alaska refuge where polar bears and caribou roam. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment to defend the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and protect Americas bird nursery from drilling, David Yarnold, president and CEO of the National Audubon Society, said in a statement. The Bureau of Land Management in December 2018 concluded that drilling could be conducted within the coastal plain without harming wildlife.
US mulls endangered status for Nevada plant in mine fight
FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2020, file photo, a series of greenhouses are pictured at the University of Nevada, Reno, where a rare desert wildflower is growing. The Las Vegas bearpoppy is facing threats from dramatic habitat loss in southern Nevada due to urban sprawl and mining, as well as killer bees, they said. Ioneer looks forward to the USFWS full status review of Tiehms buckwheat and stands ready to assist the Service in any way possible, the company said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press. The company acknowledges Tiehms buckwheat hasnt been documented anywhere else on earth, but denies the mine would lead to its extinction. Conservationists said in the listing petition in October that the surviving population of Theims was estimated between 20,000 and 43,000 individual plants.