Media Center

Navy Agrees to Comply with Clean Water Act for Munitions Testing on Potomac

January 10, 2024 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

Federal Court in Maryland Approves Settlement in Lawsuit Brought by Potomac Riverkeeper Network and NRDC

Report: U.S. Must Ban Seafood From 11 Nations Over Whale, Dolphin Deaths 

November 30, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

A report issued today by conservation groups finds that 11 nations have at least some fisheries that fail to meet U.S. standards for preventing whale and dolphin bycatch. Entanglement in fishing gear kills hundreds of thousands of marine mammals around…

NOAA Denies Key Protections in Fight to Protect Rice’s Whale

October 31, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

On Friday, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries denied a petition to establish a 10-knot vessel speed limit and other protective measures in the Gulf of Mexico to protect the endangered Rice’s whale, which is estimated to have a…

Governor Newsom Signs Bill to Protect Californians and Pollinators from Dangerous Neurotoxins

October 11, 2023 Press ReleaseSacramento

With the support of Governor Newsom and persistence from the state legislature, California has passed AB 363, which bans over the counter sales of lawn and garden neonicotinoid (neonic) pesticides by 2025, limiting their use to trained professionals. The bill…

Biden Administration to Cancel Arctic Refuge Oil and Gas Leases

September 6, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration canceled Trump-era leases for oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, eliminating an imminent threat to drill within the refuge’s 1.6-million-acre Coastal Plain.

Court Rejects Trump Administration Denial of Critical Habitat Protection to Endangered Rusty Patched Bumblebees

August 14, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

A federal judge on Friday rejected the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to refuse to designate critical habitat for highly endangered rusty patched bumblebees and ordered the Service to reconsider. Despite the bees having been listed as an endangered…

Feds Propose New Critical Habitat Designation for Endangered Whale 

July 21, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

The National Marine Fisheries Service has submitted a proposed rule designating critical habitat for the highly endangered Rice’s whale. With only approximately 50 whales remaining, Rice’s whales are among the most endangered whales in the world, making this habitat designation essential…

House Majority’s Bill on Environmental Funding Is Atrocious

July 18, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – The razor-thin House majority, after weeks of delay and concessions to the most extreme elements of its fractured conference, has put forward its version of the annual appropriations bill that funds most of the federal government’s environmental programs and priorities. The…

President Biden Declines to Embargo Products from Mexico for Vaquita Violation

July 18, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

President Biden announced yesterday that he will not embargo products from Mexico despite its failure to halt the illegal wildlife trade threatening the critically endangered vaquita porpoise. The decision responds to the Secretary of the Interior’s recent certification under the…

United States Finds Mexico Is Undermining Wildlife Treaty, May Impose Embargo

May 26, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that Mexico has failed to halt the illegal wildlife trade threatening the critically endangered vaquita porpoise, diminishing the effectiveness of an international wildlife treaty. Under U.S. law, President Biden must now decide…

Forest Service Permits Construction on Mountain Valley Pipeline

May 16, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Forest Service has issued a decision allowing construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline on public land in the Jefferson National Forest.

Marine Mammal Bycatch in Ecuador’s Fisheries Threatens Access to U.S. Seafood Market

May 10, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

A report released today by conservation and animal protection groups finds that Ecuador’s fishing industry does not meet U.S. standards for limiting whale and dolphin bycatch. As a result, Ecuador may lose access to the U.S. seafood import market for…

U.S. to Decide Whether Mexico's Failure to Protect Vaquita Warrants Embargo

April 10, 2023 Press ReleaseNew York

In a settlement filed in court Friday, the U.S. Department of the Interior agreed to determine whether Mexico has failed to stop illegal fishing and trade of totoaba that is driving the vaquita porpoise’s extinction. The determination could result in…

Advocates Defend ‘the Birds and the Bees’ with Nation-Leading Legislation

February 27, 2023 Press ReleaseAlbany

A coalition of organizations flocked to Albany to rein in toxic neonic pesticides.

Groups File Lawsuit to Require California to Regulate Pesticide-Treated Seeds 

February 21, 2023 Press ReleaseCalifornia

Legal challenge calls on state Department of Pesticide Regulation to close loophole on unregulated sale, use of pesticides on seeds.

Big Wins for Endangered Orcas in Defense Spending Bill

December 15, 2022 Press ReleaseUnited States

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The federal government will invest in multiple programs to protect endangered whales as part of a massive spending bill approved this week and signed by President Biden. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes several provisions that…

Lawsuit Pushes U.S. to Sanction Mexico as Vaquita Porpoise Nears Extinction

December 14, 2022 Press ReleaseUnited States, Mexico

Conservation groups sued the U.S. Department of the Interior today in federal court to force a long overdue decision to sanction Mexico for allowing illegal fishing and trade that endanger the vaquita porpoise.

Tribes, Commercial Fishermen, & Conservation Groups Respond to EPA’s Next Step Towards Protecting Bristol Bay

December 2, 2022 Press ReleaseAlaska

DILLINGHAM, AK — Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its Recommended Determination regarding the Pebble deposit for Bristol Bay. This marks the next step in the process for EPA to stop Pebble Mine by enacting 404(c) Clean Water Act…

Biden Administration Should Strengthen National Marine Sanctuary Protections, Conservation and Faith Groups Say

November 22, 2022 Press ReleaseUnited States

WASHINGTON - Ten conservation and faith-based organizations, consisting of millions of members, are petitioning the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to strengthen the National Marine Sanctuary System, which America’s iconic underwater parks and the species that live in our…

100 Scientists Call on Biden Administration to Save the Gulf of Mexico Whale

October 13, 2022 Press ReleaseUnited States

Washington, D.C. – In a letter sent today to senior government officials, more than 100 marine scientists are urging the Biden administration to protect the endangered Gulf of Mexico whale, “a unique part of the Gulf’s natural history,” from extinction.