Center for Biological Diversity
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Endangered Earth
No. 1,010, Nov.14, 2019
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Sage Grouse Habitat Saved From Nevada Oil Auction
In response to a court order prompted by a suit from the Center for Biological Diversity and allies, sage grouse won a reprieve in Nevada last week: The Bureau of Land Management was forced to pull more than 300,000 acres of their habitat from a Nevada oil and gas lease auction.
Despite minimal industry interest in drilling, Trump's BLM has fueled a speculative frenzy by leasing out hundreds of thousands of acres of sensitive public land in the state, often at rock-bottom prices.
"Leasing Nevada's public lands out for oil and gas threatens the survival of greater sage grouse," said the Center's Patrick Donnelly. "And also our chance at a livable climate."
Read more in The New York Times.
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And consider donating to our work to save sage grouse and other endangered wildlife.
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Take Action: Slam the Door on Keystone XL
Earlier this year the Trump administration issued a new permit for TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline in an attempt to sidestep our latest court victory blocking the project. The fight isn't over — federal agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, are still reviewing the project's environmental harms, and there are many.
Keystone XL would pump more than 35 million gallons of the planet's dirtiest oil across the country every single day, threatening waterways with spills and leaks. It would exacerbate the climate crisis and threaten a wide range of imperiled species, from American burying beetles to whooping cranes.
Act now to let regulators know: We won't stand for Keystone XL.
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Suit Launched to Save Pangolins
Gentle pangolins are the world's most trafficked mammals. Poachers kill thousands every week for their scales — erroneously thought to have curative properties in East Asian medicine — and meat.
This poaching puts pangolins in grave danger of extinction, so on Wednesday the Center and allies launched a lawsuit against Trump for failing to propose their protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
"If we don't halt the massive trafficking of pangolin parts, they could vanish in decades," said the Center's Sarah Uhlemann.
Get more from our press release.
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Hundreds Protest Trump Border Wall in Arizona
More than 300 people gathered in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, on Saturday for a powerful protest against President Donald Trump's border wall. The Center was there in solidarity with indigenous leaders and environmental and social justice organizations.
The new 30-foot-tall border barrier being constructed right now blocks wildlife migration, destroys archeological sites, and imperils endangered species and wildlands. We're calling on Congress to act immediately to take back funds Trump stole for this racist vanity project.
Get more in this video from KVOA News featuring Center borderlands campaigner Laiken Jordahl.
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Proposal to Protect Pacific Fishers Is Riddled With Loopholes
Following a petition and lawsuit by the Center and allies, Pacific fishers may finally get Endangered Species Act safeguards. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service just issued a protection proposal — but it's riddled with loopholes letting logging decimate fishers' forest habitat. Although these plush-furred mammals are tough enough to kill porcupines, they can't survive the ongoing loss of their forest homes.
"The exemptions to their protection are fuzzier than fishers themselves," said the Center's Tierra Curry.
Get more from Oregon Public Broadcasting.
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Victory: Sprawl Development Defeated Near Joshua Tree
For 15 years community groups and environmental organizations including the Center have fought a destructive development near Joshua Tree National Park named Paradise Valley. Last week we won the battle, when the Riverside County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to reject plans for the new city of 20,000 residents.
"Paradise Valley would have destroyed rare desert habitat and blocked critical wildlife corridors next to Joshua Tree," said Center attorney Lisa Belenky. "And it would have undermined Coachella Valley's carefully crafted conservation plan, which protects 27 endangered and threatened species and 375 square miles of conservation lands."
Thank you to the more than 7,500 of you who just spoke out against Paradise Valley through a Center action alert. You made a difference.
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In Colorado, a Win for Forests Over Dirty Coal
A federal judge has blocked the 2,000-acre expansion of a coal mine in the wildlands of Colorado's Gunnison National Forest, responding to a suit by the Center and other groups. His ruling ordered the Trump administration to consider limiting methane emissions and address potential harm to water and fish.
"Methane pollution is a climate-killer, and we hope this decision will spell the end of unlimited emissions from this coal mine," said Allison Melton, a Center attorney.
Learn more from Colorado Public Radio.
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Trump EPA to Allow More Toxic Coal Pollution
Trump's Environmental Protection Agency just announced a plan to severely roll back rules on storing and disposing of ash and wastewater from coal-fired power plants.
The rollback would weaken two Obama-era rules aimed at reducing toxic leaks from coal-ash ponds into groundwater and stopping the plants from spewing pollutants like arsenic, mercury and selenium into waterways.
"These proposals will sentence millions of Americans to poorer health," said the Center's Hannah Connor. "They'll also hurt critters like shortnose sturgeon and hellbender salamanders that live in our streams and rivers."
Read more in the Los Angeles Times.
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Revelator: How to Make 'Farm-to-closet' Clothing a Reality
The textile economy, like the industrial food economy, is often bad for people and the planet. It uses chemicals that can cause cancer and chronic illness, gobbles natural resources, and exploits labor. But how can we change it?
Fibershed, a new book by Rebecca Burgess, explores ways to build a textile economy benefitting both people and the Earth — and explains why we desperately need it.
Head to The Revelator to read a review of the book.
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And subscribe to The Revelator's e-newsletter.
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Wild & Weird: Tough, Tiny Fish on the Border
Quitobaquito pupfish have been on the planet for 1.6 million years, once ranging across the U.S. Southwest and northern Mexico. Now only several thousand remain in the small desert oasis created by Quitobaquito Spring in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument — just feet from the U.S.-Mexico border. These tiny but tenacious fish can survive extreme temperatures and high salt levels, and males turn vibrant blue when defending territory or seeking a mate.
Sadly for these amazing little fish, new border wall construction has begun in Organ Pipe — which takes a lot of water. The Border Patrol is pumping thousands of gallons daily to mix concrete for the wall. Right now construction teams are within miles of Quitobaquito Spring, heedless of draining this precious desert waterway and its endangered little denizens. Watch our new video on Facebook or YouTube.
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Center for Biological Diversity
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