Center for Biological Diversity
[link removed]
Endangered Earth
No. 1279, January 9, 2025

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Grizzlies Will Keep Lifesaving Protection
Incredible news: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service just rejected petitions [[link removed]] by Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming to strip Endangered Species Act protection from grizzly bears — because these imperiled animals still need federal safeguards.
The bad part? The agency also proposed a rule to loosen restrictions on when grizzlies can be killed and limit where they get federal protection. The rule would exclude places like California and Colorado, where the bears once lived and abundant habitat remains.
“With ongoing federal protections, grizzlies in the northern Rocky Mountains and North Cascades will have a real chance at long-term recovery instead of being gunned down and mounted on trophy walls,” said Andrea Zaccardi, legal director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Carnivore Conservation program. “We’ll advocate to maintain all protections that keep grizzly bears alive until recovery is reached.”
If you're one of the 23,535 Center supporters who spoke up backing retained grizzly protection, thank you . You made a difference.
Palisades fire at night [[link removed]]
Los Angeles on Fire
As of the sending of this newsletter, the Los Angeles wildfires [[link removed]] have burned more than 28,000 acres, destroyed more than 2,000 structures, and claimed at least five human lives. Our hearts go out to our many affected staff, members, supporters, and partners. We’re also deeply concerned for the region’s wildlife, including endangered species like mountain lions and mountain yellow-legged frogs.
Wildfire is an important process for many ecosystems. But the genocide of Indigenous people and criminalization of fire practices, along with 200 years of reckless land-use planning, have altered historical fire regimes in the region.
To this picture add climate change, which causes hotter and drier conditions and more erratic weather, resulting in larger and more destructive wildfires.
These horrific fires are a reminder: We desperately need to combat climate change by curbing fossil fuel extraction, building smarter and farther from fire-prone areas, and using resources to equitably retrofit homes.
Wolf on top of wooden logs [[link removed]]
Rewards Offered for Info on Wolf-Killings
Last year a selfish poacher shot the father of Colorado’s historic Copper Creek wolf pack [[link removed]] , ultimately causing his death.
And Washington state saw three separate wolf-killings [[link removed]] in Klickitat and Okanogan counties in just the last three months of 2024. One of the wolves was, just like the Copper Creek male, grievously wounded and ultimately starved to death. This wolf was the sole remaining partner of the only wolf pair in western Washington.
Wolf-killings are illegal and morally wrong — and we won’t let them stand. The Center has contributed $45,000 to rewards for any information leading to arrests and convictions in all four wolves’ death.
The plight of wolves nationwide is about to get even more dire. Help our fight with a gift to the Center’s F uture for the Wild Fund . [[link removed]]
Children in front of a table full of fruits and vegetables [[link removed]]
Support Dietary Guidelines That Support Wildlife
Meat-heavy U.S. diets are among the most climate-damaging, wildlife-harming in the world. The United States must shift toward plant-based food to meet global climate targets.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans could be an important part of that, influencing billions of meals and enormous government spending every year.
The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee just released its scientific report to guide development of the 2025-2030 guidelines. The report wisely recommends reducing meat consumption and prioritizing plant proteins, which would drastically reduce U.S. food-related emissions and finally support the environment, public health, equity, and food security.
But for those guidelines to become reality, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services need to adopt the committee’s recommendations. And the meat and dairy industries don’t want that to happen.
Urge the feds to adopt these smart recommendations now. [[link removed]]
Collage of polar bear and a young seal [[link removed]]
Death Blow to Alaska Offshore Drilling Project
Urged by tenacious Center advocacy, this week the U.S. Department of the Interior denied an extension of offshore oil and gas leases [[link removed]] for the Liberty Unit drilling project. That means the leases expired — and the project is dead in the water.
For decades the Center has fought Liberty, which would’ve been the first oil development project fully within federal waters in the Arctic Ocean, creating massive threats to the Arctic ecosystem.
“From poor planning and a lack of local support to high-risk bets and weak science, Liberty has been a terrifying fiasco,” said Cooper Freeman, the Center’s Alaska director. “The bowhead whales, polar bears, and ice seals who rely on a healthy Arctic marine ecosystem would be severely threatened by this dangerous drilling project, and I’m glad the Interior Department agreed.”
Black and gray typography letters [[link removed]]
Revelator : 2025 From A to Z
In The Revelator’s latest editorial [[link removed]] , editor John R. Platt takes an alphabetical look at the environmental threats, priorities, and opportunities of the year ahead. What letter resonates most with you?
If you don’t already, subscribe to the free weekly e-newsletter for more wildlife and conservation news [[link removed]] .
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That’s Wild: Vole-Hunting Squirrels
In the Bay Area, where the vole population exploded last year, researchers saw California ground squirrels hunting [[link removed]] , killing, and eating the smaller rodents. The observations were reported in the Journal of Ethology .
Squirrels have been known for more than 30 years to eat meat opportunistically, from fish to reptiles to other mammals, but evidence has historically come from examining their stomach contents. This time the behavior was caught on video. [[link removed]] Crunch.
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