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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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Trump Administration Decision To Build Highway In Utah Violates Environmental Laws And Risks Integrity Of National Conservation Lands
Today, the Trump administration’s Bureau of Land Management issued a Record of Decision permitting construction of the Northern Corridor Highway, a controversial four-lane highway through the protected Red Cliffs National Conservation Area (NCA) in southwest Utah. The US Fish & Wildlife Service also issued an Incidental Take Permit, allowing for destruction of desert tortoises in the path of the highway project and to reduce protections elsewhere. Desert tortoises are listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act.
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Bureau of Land Management Releases Ill-Conceived Proposal for the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan
Today the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a proposed amendment to the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP), initially approved under the Obama administration in 2016.
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Bureau of Land Management Moves to Approve Utah Highway Through Critical Tortoise Habitat
Today, the Trump administration moved one step closer to approving a highway project that would cut through critical habitat for the Agassiz's desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) as well as the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area and Desert Reserve, which was designated for the conservation of the federally threatened desert tortoise.
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One Step Ahead: How Corporations can Help Wildlife Through Renewable Energy Procurement
What do Bank of America, Amazon, Coca Cola, Facebook, Google, Nike, Salesforce, Starbucks, T-Mobile and Walmart have in common? In addition to being brand names
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M-CORES Task Force Meetings End as Questions Loom for Wildlife
Last week, three Florida task forces established to consider the environmental and economic impacts of three massive new highway proposals —known as the Multi-use Corridors of Regional Economic Significance (M-CORES)—completed their final meetings. These proposed projects represent the largest highway expansion in Florida since the 1950s.
jcovey@defenders.org
