Center for Biological Diversity
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Endangered Earth
No. 1,144, June 9, 2022

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Lawsuit Filed to Save Rare Midwestern Snakes
The Center for Biological Diversity and allies sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [[link removed]] Wednesday for denying Endangered Species Act protection to imperiled Kirtland’s snakes.
Sometimes called “little red snakes,” these small, nonpoisonous snakes have red-to-pink bellies and spend much of the year underground, often in crayfish burrows. They eat earthworms, slugs and leeches, and — having disappeared from Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — now live in seven states, from Michigan to Missouri in the Midwest and south to Tennessee. Agriculture and urbanization are destroying their wetland habitats; climate change is also a threat.
“These pretty snakes are disappearing, along with a lot of other animals, as wetlands are destroyed across America’s heartland, and they need federal protection,” said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center. “Saving the Kirtland’s snake will also benefit birds, butterflies and people by protecting areas that reduce flooding, store carbon, and give us places to go and see the natural world teeming with life.”


Petition Aims to Get Lead Ammo Out of Refuges
The Center and allies have just petitioned [[link removed]] the U.S. Department of the Interior to phase out lead ammunition and fishing tackle in national wildlife refuges.
Although lead was banned in 1992 for hunting waterfowl, it’s still used for other hunting — and the spent ammo continues to poison more than 130 species, including endangered whooping cranes and California condors. Many birds also consume lost lead-based tackle.
“Switching to lead substitutes can stop the often slow, painful poisoning deaths of wildlife on refuges specifically established to protect them,” said the Center’s Jonathan Evans.
Help us save birds and other wildlife with a gift to the Saving Life on Earth Fund . All donations will be doubled. [[link removed]]


Saving Iconic Western Joshua Trees
The Center has worked for years to protect Joshua trees, an ancient desert species sliding toward extinction because of climate change and other threats. Sadly, scientists predict, these Dr. Seussian plants will largely be gone from Joshua Tree National Park by century’s end if we don’t take strong action to save them.
Thanks to a Center petition, Joshua trees are currently candidates for protection under California's Endangered Species Act, which gives them some safeguards. A decision is coming up for the species next week, when the California Fish and Game Commission will vote on whether to permanently protect them under state law.
Learn more about iconic Joshua trees in this Medium article featuring the Center's Conservation Director Brendan Cummings. [[link removed]]

Center Win: New Biden Energy Orders Expand Solar
On Monday President Biden announced [[link removed]] executive actions that use the Defense Production Act — as the Center has advocated — to manufacture solar panel components, heat pumps, insulation, and grid transformers the United States needs to speed toward a just, renewable energy system. The actions track the Center’s legal plans for using the Cold War–era statute for peaceful ends to confront the climate emergency.
“This is a tremendous sea change in the Biden administration's approach to climate action,” said Jean Su, director of our Energy Justice program [[link removed]] . “It signals he’s willing and able to use his broad executive powers on climate. And his show of leadership needs to continue so we can bring the deadly fossil fuel era to a close.”


Court Backs Ban on Offshore Fracking in California
An appeals court just affirmed [[link removed]] a lower-court decision prohibiting offshore fracking in federal waters off California’s coast. The government, said the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, violated the National Environmental Policy Act and other laws when it allowed fracking in offshore oil and gas wells in all leased federal waters off California.
“This is an amazing victory for California’s coast,” said Kristen Monsell, the Center’s Oceans program legal director. “Fracking has no place in our oceans. This decision will prevent more toxic chemicals from poisoning fish, sea otters, and other marine life. And it brings us a step closer to ending offshore drilling once and for all.”


Help Stop Diuron, a Dangerous Herbicide
Great news: Following years of pressure from the Center and allies, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to ban almost all uses of the toxic herbicide diuron.
Although you may never have heard of diuron before, millions of pounds of it are used every year in the United States. It’s highly toxic to plants and animals (especially bees), imperils endangered species, and causes cancer in people. There’s just no justification for its continued use, especially when safer alternatives exist.
You can help: Urge the EPA to resist industry pressure, stick with its decision to stop allowing the use of this poison, and consider a total ban. [[link removed]]


Revelator : Can Wild Creatures Help Us Help Them?
A new paper in Conservation Biology , as Claire Hamlett reports in The Revelator [[link removed]] , sheds light on how species’ behavior can play a role in their own conservation — and how important it is for scientists and policymakers to take individual animals’ agency and variability into account when trying to protect them.
Don’t miss out on The Revelator ’s e-newsletter bringing you each week’s best environmental articles and essays. [[link removed]]


Speak Up for Environmental Justice for All
Communities of color and of low wealth are 3.5 times more likely than wealthy people to be harmed by environmental degradation and the climate emergency. In Arizona the Hualapai Tribe is fighting a lithium mine that threatens a sacred spring, while in Louisiana a community plagued by polluting plastic factories is nicknamed “Cancer Alley” for its high cancer rates among poor and Black residents. And underserved communities are disproportionately harmed by climate change effects like heat waves, droughts and severe storms.
But there’s hope: Congress is finally considering legislation to strengthen existing laws to give these communities cleaner air, cleaner water, and a much safer and healthier environment.

Urge your members of Congress to cosponsor the Environmental Justice for All Act and push to pass it as soon as possible.[[link removed]]


Sign Up for Our Food Justice Newsletter
It’s been one year since the Center’s Population and Sustainability program launched Food X , a monthly e-newsletter about creating a just food system that protects people, wildlife, and the planet.
Written as a personal letter from our Senior Food Campaigner Jennifer Molidor, every month it takes a deep dive into the complex world of sustainable food: exploring issues around how we grow food, how agriculture affects wildlife, who can access healthy food, how food is wasted, and food solutions to help stop the extinction crisis.
Sign up to receive Food X and share this page on social media to celebrate its first anniversary. [[link removed]]
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That’s Wild: Billions of Fireflies in the Dark
Only a few of the Earth’s thousands of firefly species synchronize their flashes into patterns. Lucky for us, filmmaker and activist Sriram Murali has captured rare footage of this sublime lightning-bug light show in India’s Anamalai Tiger Reserve.
Read more about Murali’s work [[link removed]] and check out his extraordinary video [[link removed]] .

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