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Polar bear
Center for     Biological     Diversity   

Near Record-low Sea Ice Imperils Polar Bear, Walrus

Scientists have confirmed that this winter's Arctic maximum sea ice extent was the second-lowest ever recorded. Their announcement comes just months after the Trump administration blocked Endangered Species Act safeguards for the ice-dependent Pacific walrus, which the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned to protect in 2008. It's also more bad news for polar bears, the focus of a long campaign started by the Center back in 2005.

"This is devastating news for Arctic wildlife that depend on sea ice for survival," said the Center's Shaye Wolf. "Because of our failure to rein in carbon pollution, amazing animals like the walrus are suffering as their habitat melts away even faster than scientists predicted. And Trump is refusing to protect them."

Stay tuned for how you can fight back and read more in USA TODAY.

Big Sandy crayfish

Help Sought for Two Appalachian Crayfish

The Center this week filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to protect critical habitat in West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky for the Big Sandy crayfish and the Guyandotte River crayfish.

These rare animals were protected under the Endangered Species Act in 2016 because of habitat loss and water pollution — but the agency has yet to protect some of their most important habitat.

"Every day that we delay these habitat protections is a day these two Appalachian crawdads move closer to extinction," said the Center's Perrin de Jong.

Read more in our press release.

Lawsuit Demands Mexican Seafood Ban to Save Vaquita

Vaquita

The Center and partners have sued the Trump administration for failing to ban imported seafood harvested from the Gulf of California using gillnets, which drown the critically endangered vaquita porpoise.

Over the past 20 years, vaquitas have lost 95 percent of their population, and today there are fewer than 30 individuals left. Scientists say they could be extinct as soon as next year if Mexican fishing practices remain unchanged.

"The time has come to embargo Mexican seafood," said the Center's Sarah Uhlemann. Read more in Mother Jones.

Pollution

In The Revelator: The Fight to Save the EPA

These are times like no other at the Environmental Protection Agency. The Trump administration is rolling back regulations for clean air and water, trying to repeal the Clean Power Plan, stripping climate change from its policies, and expanding the use of toxic pesticides.

Pushing back against all this is Save the U.S. EPA, a campaign organized by the employees' union. The Revelator's John Platt spoke with John J. O'Grady, a 31-year-veteran of the EPA and spokesman for Save the U.S. EPA.

"We're trying to prevent the utter destruction of the EPA," O'Grady said. "We're hoping there's something left in the rubble after this particular administration leaves office, but who knows."

Read the story in The Revelator.

Oppose Wyoming Plan to Hunt Yellowstone Grizzlies

Yellowstone grizzly bear

Less than a year after the Trump administration removed Endangered Species Act protection from Yellowstone's grizzlies, Wyoming now wants a hunt.

State officials want to allow hunters to kill 24 grizzly bears that wander out of Yellowstone National Park this fall, including up to 14 females. We can't let this happen.

Tell Wyoming officials that you oppose this irresponsible hunting proposal.

Dallas

Texas Growth Spurt Hurts At-risk Wildlife

The Lone Star State plays a starring role in data just released by the U.S. Census Bureau, which show that Dallas-Fort Worth is the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the entire United States. In fact, six of the 10 fastest-growing counties in the United States are in Texas.

This means increased pressure on the sprawling state's numerous endangered species, from majestic whooping cranes to tiny Houston toads — wildlife already stressed by habitat loss and climate-driven extreme weather events.

"Soaring human populations are putting incredible pressure on endangered animals in Texas and across the Southwest," said the Center's Dr. Catherine Thomasson. "We need wilderness protections that fully account for our growing impact on all species."

Read more in our press release.

'Uncle Sam, the Cheese Pusher'

Cheese

Want to know something about cheese?

Each year dairy producers produce far too much of it, knowing the U.S. government will bail them out and buy the surplus. In 2016 alone, the U.S. Department of Agriculture spent $20 million taxpayer dollars to buy 11 million pounds of cheese that no one wanted.

All that comes with a steep cost to wildlife, people, the planet and the climate. So how'd we get to the point where Uncle Sam is pushing so much cheese on us? Check out this Medium piece from the Center's Jennifer Molidor.

Protection Sought for 'Wild and Scenic' Rivers in California

Palm Canyon Creek

The Center filed suit this week to force the Trump administration to show how it will protect eight congressionally designated "wild and scenic" California rivers that wind though public lands and provide habitat for imperiled fish, birds and other wildlife.

Our lawsuit seeks protection for more than 100 miles of waters in the Amargosa River, Owens Headwaters, Cottonwood Creek, Piru Creek, North Fork San Jacinto River, Fuller Mill Creek, Palm Canyon Creek and Bautista Creek — all designated under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 2009. Read more.

Microplastics

Settlement Helps Curb Ocean Plastic Pollution

A new settlement secured by the Center will help stem plastic pollution by preventing microplastics from getting into the ocean in California. This week's agreement with a plastic manufacturer will also provide nearly $100,000 for environmental grants to cut plastic pollution.

It's an issue we've been working on for years — and for good reason. Thousands of seabirds, sea turtles, seals and other marine mammals are killed each year after ingesting plastic or getting entangled in it. In fact, news just broke that the Pacific Garbage Patch is way bigger than previously thought — a mass of floating garbage twice the size of Texas.

Get more from National Public Radio and learn about our fight against ocean plastics.

Black bears

Wild & Weird: Borderlands Bears Spotted on Critter Cams

It's no secret that we love the wildlife of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands: jaguars, Mexican gray wolves, ocelots, coatis, roadrunners, Gila monsters. But one of our favorite critters to see on our trail cams in the remote beauty of the Southwest is the bulky, curious and handsome black bear.

Check out our new video of adorable bear cubs and lumbering giants padding through the deserts and Sky Islands of southern Arizona on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

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Photo credits: Polar bear by Alan D. Wilson/Nature's Pics Online; Big Sandy crayfish by Guenter Schuster; vaquita by Paula Olson/NOAA; pollution by Billy Wilson; Yellowstone grizzly bear by Shane Lin/Flickr; Dallas by Neff Connor/Flickr; cheese by Paul Goyette/Flickr; Palm Canyon Creek by omaromar/Flickr; microplastics by MPCA Photos/Flickr; black bears by Russ McSpadden/Center for Biological Diversity.

Center for Biological Diversity
P.O. Box 710
Tucson, AZ 85702
United States