Center for Biological Diversity
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Endangered Earth
No. 1303, June 26, 2025

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A Historic Win for the Wild in the Southeast
A long and fierce campaign to protect the Okefenokee Swamp from mining has finally paid off.
For years, the Center for Biological Diversity and allies have held the line against a proposed mine abutting Georgia’s Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge — and late last week, a nonprofit called the Conservation Fund announced that it’s buying the mine site [[link removed]] .
The Twin Pines mine would’ve been a disaster for the Okefenokee, one of the world’s largest intact freshwater ecosystems and home to countless species — including wood storks, eastern indigo snakes [[link removed]] , and gopher tortoises.
The nearly 8,000-acre purchase protects the area from mining and includes acquisition of the underlying mineral rights.
We’re deeply grateful for each of you who spoke up for this incredible place over many years.
Collage of a manatee and a spotted owl [[link removed]]
In Court Over Efforts to Weaken Habitat Protection
This spring the Trump administration proposed to revoke the longstanding definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act, eliminating habitat protections — even though habitat destruction is the main extinction driver for U.S. species, from Oregon spotted owls to Florida manatees.
The Center officially requested public records that might explain the proposal, which is contrary to science and Supreme Court precedent. But so far, the Department of the Interior hasn’t disclosed anything — so we just sued [[link removed]] .
“Trump should be stepping up to protect our vanishing wildlife — not hammering their coffin nails,” said Center attorney Ryan Shannon.
Be part of the fight with a gift to our Future for the Wild Fund. [[link removed]]
Pallid sturgeon underwater [[link removed]]
Victories Against Water Pollution, Biofuels
Good news in the fight against plastic and pollution: Siding with the Center and allies, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled [[link removed]] that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wrongly decided not to update water pollution standards for several industries, including chemical plants, plastic factories, and fossil fuel refineries. It’s a key win for people, clean water, and critters who rely on fresh water.
Meanwhile, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled [[link removed]] that the EPA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service need to take a closer look at how the production of biofuels affects endangered wildlife. When corn is grown for fuel, for instance, pesticides and fertilizers run off into nearby streams and rivers. This pollution harms endangered species such as the pallid sturgeon in the Mississippi River.
Both of these court wins will hopefully keep our waters safer and cleaner for all.
Aerial view of a Rice's whale [[link removed]]
Petition Pressures Oil Companies to Plug Offshore Wells
The Center and allies just petitioned the Trump administration to stop giving oil and gas companies new offshore-drilling rights if they haven’t cleaned up old wells and platforms.
Thousands of wells and hundreds of platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific are overdue for decommissioning. They may leak oil, chemicals, and more, threatening people and wildlife — including federally protected species, like critically endangered Rice’s whales. But President Donald Trump’s Interior Department keeps letting deadbeat oil companies [[link removed]] expand drilling.
“Oceans aren’t the oil industry’s junkyards,” said the Center’s Rachel Mathews. “They’re home to whales and other wildlife who deserve unpolluted waters.”
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A caution sign [[link removed]]
Join Us in Fighting Extreme Heat
If you’re in the United States, you probably suffered the sizzling temperatures gripping most of the country this week. Meanwhile President Donald Trump has threatened millions of lives by dismantling federal agencies and programs that help working families cool their homes and survive deadly heat waves.
So on Tuesday the Center and more than 150 other groups urged federal, state, and local officials [[link removed]] to ban utility shutoffs, deploy climate-resilient rooftop solar and storage, tax polluters to finance renewable energy, and strengthen worker protections.
Join the movement: Tell your governor to treat extreme heat like the deadly emergency it is. [[link removed]]
Wolf in a snowy landscape [[link removed]]
The Revelator : European Wolves
The European Union just lowered its conservation status for wolves, a move that appears — as we’ve seen in the United States — to be more about politics than science. Expert conservationists, meanwhile, offer several reasons why wolves in the EU should remain protected.
Read more in The Revelator . [[link removed]]
And if you haven’t yet, subscribe to The Revelator ’s free weekly e-newsletter for more wildlife and conservation news. [[link removed]]
Close-up of a hummingbird flying [[link removed]]
That’s Wild: Hummingbird Beaks and Bird Feeders
According to a new study [[link removed]] , the size and shape of some hummingbirds’ beaks seem to be changing in response to human influence — specifically, backyard bird feeders popping up in their habitat. Scientists looking at Anna’s hummingbirds in the U.S. West say their bills are getting longer and slenderer, apparently to ensure they can slurp homemade sugar water through the feeders’ narrow openings.
The prevalence of feeders is also apparently expanding the hummingbirds’ range to the north, from Southern California up the West Coast into Canada.
It’s not good that bird feeders have replaced so many natural food sources — but it’s amazing that hummingbirds can adapt almost as quickly as their wings beat.
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Center for Biological Diversity
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