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Judge Rejects Federal Project Threatening California’s Desert Tortoises
A judge has rejected federal agencies’ approval of activities in the California Desert Conservation Area, including a vast network of off-road vehicle routes in the
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California Fish and Game Commission Finds Mojave Desert Tortoise Status Warrants Uplisting to 'Endangered' Under California Endangered Species Act
SAN JOSE, California – Defenders of Wildlife, the Desert Tortoise Council and the Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee applaud the California Fish and Game Commission’s unanimous
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Defenders and Allies Respond to BLM Announcement on Highway through Red Cliffs National Conservation Area
Update of 3pm ET 11/16/2023: The U.S. District Court issued an opinion, irrespective of BLM’s announcement, affirming the need to reconsider approval of the highway
More Tortoises Press Releases
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Lawsuit Targets Federal OK of Off-Road Routes, Grazing Threatening Imperiled Species in California Deserts
Environmental groups sued the Interior Department, U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today for authorizing damaging activities in the California Desert Conservation Area, including a vast network of off-road vehicle routes in the West Mojave Desert.
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Groups File Suit Against Interior Department to Prevent Destructive Highway Through Protected National Conservation Area
In response to the Trump administration’s decision in January 2021 to permit the construction of a four-lane highway through Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, today
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Lawsuit Launched Over Federal Project Threatening Desert Tortoises, Other Imperiled Species in California Deserts
Environmental groups filed a formal notice today of their intent to sue the Interior Department, U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for authorizing activities in the California Desert Conservation Area that are driving desert tortoises and other threatened and endangered species toward extinction.
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Lawsuit Targets Trump Administration’s Last-minute Pipeline Approval for California Desert Water Grab
Conservation groups sued the U.S. Bureau of Land Management today for granting a right-of-way to Cadiz, Inc. to push billions of gallons of water through a mothballed oil-and-gas pipeline that crosses Mojave Trails National Monument and other protected public land in southeastern California.
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Biden Administration Halts Trump’s Last-minute Attack to Undo Desert Conservation Plan
In the 11th hour of President Trump’s term, the federal administration announced a rollback to upend key conservation protections afforded to public lands in the California Desert Conservation Area by the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) adopted by the federal government and the State of California in 2016.
jcovey@defenders.org
