Center for Biological Diversity
[link removed]
Endangered Earth
No. 1278, January 2, 2025

--------------------------------------------
Settlement Sets Deadlines to Protect Four Bee Species
Good news to start your year off right: Thanks to two Center for Biological Diversity lawsuits (and four petitions), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed on deadlines [[link removed]] to make protection decisions for American bumblebees, variable cuckoo bumblebees, blue calamintha bees, and Southern Plains bumblebees.
After the Center and allies petitioned to safeguard these bees under the Endangered Species Act, the Service announced it would consider protection for all four species. But the agency dragged its feet for years after that — so we sued. Now decisions are due as soon as 2027.
“If federal officials don’t move quickly, there could be disastrous consequences for bees and the many plants that rely on these pollinators,” said Jess Tyler, who wrote our bumblebee petitions.
You can help save these bees and other species from going extinct before getting protected: Urge the Service to reform the listing program. [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]]
Wolves’ California Comeback
Last year was a good one for gray wolves in the Golden State. Near the end of 2024, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife counted 70 of these noble, social animals in the state — up from just 44 in 2023. The agency reported at least 30 new pups, the highest number since wolves started coming back to California in 2011.
“Seeing wolves return to the places they once called home and having these adorable new pups is as inspiring as it gets,” said the Center’s Amaroq Weiss in Newsweek [[link removed]] . “This really shows the impact of strong protections under the federal and state endangered species acts.”
In the northern Rockies, wolves aren’t protected — and it shows. Take action to save them from being massacred. [[link removed]]
Butterfly on a purple flower and a perennial plant with blue-violet blooms [[link removed]]
Protection Sought for Rare Butterfly, Two Flowers
Last month, with the Endangered Habitats League, we petitioned to protect Quino checkerspot butterflies [[link removed]] under the California Endangered Species Act. Following a Center petition and two lawsuits, these vibrant insects and their critical habitat are already protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. But state protection will give them additional help they desperately need, especially with the future of federal protection uncertain under the looming Trump administration.
Of course, federal protection is still crucial — especially in states with weaker protections — so in December we also joined forces with a plant biologist in petitioning to safeguard Jobé bluecurls and hidden bluecurls [[link removed]] under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. These two beautiful, ornate flowers are found only in Florida and are exceedingly rare, with tiny ranges and very few known locations.
Help us win safeguards for another imperiled Florida species: gopher tortoises. [[link removed]]
Fox looking straight at the camera [[link removed]]
We’re Suing for Sierra Nevada Red Foxes
You can’t save wildlife without protecting where it lives.
In 2021, thanks to Center work, California’s Sierra Nevada red foxes got much-needed Endangered Species Act protection. But the Fish and Wildlife Service didn’t safeguard their habitat — with serious consequences.
Facing threats from recreation, development, and livestock grazing, these foxes have dwindled to fewer than 50 left in the wild. So on Monday we sued the Service [[link removed]] for failing to protect their critical habitat [[link removed]] .
We first petitioned to protect Sierra Nevada red foxes in 2011, and we're still on the case.
[link removed] [[link removed]]
Grizzlies at Risk
The Bureau of Land Management recently greenlit a massive logging operation in Montana’s Garnet Mountains, where threatened grizzlies have finally returned. As soon as the project began, the Center went to court to stop the destruction.
Watch (and share) our video of two precious grizzly cubs on Facebook [[link removed]] or Threads [[link removed]] .
A low-angle shot of tall trees [[link removed]]
Revelator : Most-Read Articles of 2024
Did you know the Center has a news-and-ideas initiative called The Revelator ? It was founded at the beginning of the first Trump administration by editor and environmental journalist John R. Platt, who brings you weekly stories and commentaries on conservation, climate, environmental justice, and other essential topics.
Check out The Revelator ’s 20 most-read articles of 2024 [[link removed]] — covering sloths, salmon, autocrats, and more.
And if you don’t already, subscribe to the free weekly e-newsletter [[link removed]] for more wildlife and conservation news.
Profile of gray pocket gopher in the dirt [[link removed]]
That’s Wild: Gophers vs. Mount St. Helens
Gophers are humble creatures, but they can make a mighty difference.
After Mount St. Helens erupted in May 1980, scientists launched an experiment on how gophers impact lava-devastated land. In 1983 they airlifted local northern pocket gophers to two enclosed pumice plots and released them to do their thing (digging, pooping, plotting world domination) for a single day .
Six years after the experiment, land the gophers hadn’t touched was still mostly barren. But in the gopher plots, tens of thousands of plants were thriving.
And according to a new study, now — 41 years after the experiment — the ecosystem health of these gopher plots is still evident.
How did the gophers make this miracle happen? Find out at Smithsonian magazine. [[link removed]]
*********************************************

Share Endangered Earth Online: [link removed]

Donate now to support the Center's work: [link removed]

Follow Us

[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]

This message was sent to [email protected].

Opt out of this mailing list: [link removed]

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

0-0-0-0