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Stories related to: Endangered Species Act

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14 Stories

August 2008
- Doom Looms for Spotted Owl
  
  Seattle Times | Aug 14, 08 3:01 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The outlook appears bleak for America's most controversial bird, reports the Seattle Times . Despite logging bans in huge swathes of old-growth forests initiated 14 years ago to protect the northern spotted owl, researchers have discovered its numbers have dropped by nearly half. The decline is blamed on pre-1994 habitat loss and the invasion of a tougher owl species. More »
  
  Tags
  
  endangered species • birds • Washington state • Endangered Species Act • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service • logging • forests
- Federal Changes Threaten Endangered Species: Critics
  
  Oregonian (Portland) | Aug 12, 08 3:21 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Critics are raising an alarm over planned White House changes to the Endangered Species Act, reports the Oregonian . The modifications would give federal agencies such as the US Forest Service more leeway to decide whether activities such as logging would harm endangered species—and such determinations would no longer be scrutinized by outside reviewers. More »
  
  Tags
  
  global warming • greenhouse gases • polar bear • conservation • salmon • Endangered Species Act • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service • logging • Dirk Kempthorne • Earthjustice • National Wildlife Federation
May 2008
- Alaska Suing to Bounce Bears Off Threatened List
  
  CBC (Canada) | May 22, 08 8:51 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The state of Alaska will sue to challenge the federal government's decision to place polar bears on the endangered species list, reports CBC News. The Department of the Interior cited the bears' diminishing sea ice habitat as a reason for listing them as threatened, but Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin fears offshore shore oil and gas exploration will be inhibited by safeguards for the bears. More »
  
  Tags
  
  Sarah Palin • climate change • global warming • Alaska • polar bear • hunting • Endangered Species Act • Arctic sea ice
- US Classifies Polar Bears as 'Threatened'
  
  Associated Press | May 14, 08 2:39 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - After 15 months of deliberation, the Interior Department will declare polar bears “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act, officials told the AP today. The decision will reportedly cite internal scientific studies which project that melting Arctic ice could nearly wipe out the animals by 2050. More »
  
  Tags
  
  climate change • global warming • carbon emissions • endangered species • pollution • polar bear • Endangered Species Act
- On Litmus Tests, McCain Won't Always Turn Green
  
  Washington Post | May 12, 08 2:29 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - John McCain might trumpet his climate-change bona fides—and voters might be giving him credit—but the Republican candidate's true green colors are far more mixed, the Washington Post finds in a look at how he treats environmental issues. McCain wants a federal limit on greenhouse-gas emissions, but voted against higher fuel-efficiency standards and requiring public utilities to boost output from renewable sources. More »
  
  Tags
  
  John McCain • climate change • carbon emissions • fuel efficiency • Endangered Species Act
April 2008
- US Must Clarify Bears' Status: Judge
  
  Los Angeles Times | Apr 29, 08 4:03 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A federal judge today ordered the US government to decide by May 15 if polar bears are endangered, the Los Angeles Times reports, a victory for environmental groups. The judge ruled the feds broke the law by missing the original Jan. 9 deadline; the government offered "no specific facts that would justify the existing delay, much less further delay," the judge said. More »
  
  Tags
  
  polar bear • Endangered Species Act
March 2008
- Hunters Take Aim at Gray Wolf
  
  Associated Press | Mar 29, 08 9:35 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Hunters in the northern Rockies will soon take aim at a rare target—the gray wolf. The animal lost its protected species status in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming yesterday, and wildlife agencies in the region are looking to reduce the population by granting hunting licenses for the first time since 1973. An estimated 1,500 gray wolves now roam the region. More »
  
  Tags
  
  endangered species • wildlife • Idaho • Montana • hunting • Wyoming • Endangered Species Act • Rocky Mountains • gray wolf • Earthjustice
- Senator Blasts 'Foot-Dragging' on Protecting Polar Bear
  
  Fairbanks Daily News-Miner | Mar 21, 08 2:50 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Three months after the deadline for declaring whether polar bears are a threatened species, the Interior Department hasn't issued a ruling, and Barbara Boxer wants to know why. The influential senator said yesterday she wants Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to appear before the environment committee and “answer questions about the administration’s continued foot-dragging,” the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports. More »
  
  Tags
  
  Alaska • polar bear • Endangered Species Act • Barbara Boxer • Chukchi Sea • Dirk Kempthorne
February 2008
- Protections End for Gray Wolf
  
  National Geographic | Feb 22, 08 5:06 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The gray wolf has been taken off the endangered species list in a multi-state area of the northern Rocky Mountains, National Geographic reports. "The wolves are back," said an official of the Department of the Interior. Just 66 of the animals were reintroduced to the region in 1996 and there are over 1,500 today. Environmental groups say it's too soon to take away the wolves' protection and believe many will soon be killed by hunters. More »
  
  Tags
  
  endangered species • conservation • wildlife • Idaho • Montana • Wyoming • Endangered Species Act • Rocky Mountains • gray wolf
- US to List Polar Bears as Endangered
  
  Los Angeles Times | Feb 3, 08 7:13 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The US Department of the Interior is expected this week to change the polar bear's conservation status from "vulnerable" to "endangered"—which would make the animals the first species officially recognized as victims of global warming. The year-old proposal concerning the appealing predators would give conservationists a better chance at combating greenhouse gas emissions, reports the Los Angeles Times. More »
  
  Tags
  
  list • global warming • endangered species • polar bear • Endangered Species Act • Interior Department
September 2007
- Bad News Plagues Bears
  
  Independent (UK) | Sep 9, 07 3:09 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - It's bad enough when 40% of your habitat will disappear by mid-century, but add trophy hunters taking advantage of a loophole in US law, and it's not a good time to be a polar bear, the Independent on Sunday reports. The bears are not listed as endangered so 950 pelts have been imported from Canada since 1994. More »
  
  Tags
  
  climate change • global warming • endangered species • John Kerry • Arctic • polar bear • species • hunting • Endangered Species Act
- Save the Whales—but Forget the Delta Smelt
  
  Economist | Sep 9, 07 5:16 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Endangered Species Act , enacted in 1973 to protect the likes of the bald eagle and the California grizzly, is in desperate need of overhaul, the Economist argues. The act’s latest ravagement is the protection of the delta smelt, a three-inch fish a judge deemed important enough late last month to warrant shutting down giant pumps that supply two-thirds of California's water supply. More »
  
  Tags
  
  list • California • endangered species • species • Endangered Species Act • Civil Rights Act
July 2007
- Environment Agency Battles Its Own Threats
  
  Los Angeles Times | Jul 5, 07 12:55 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The bald eagle's exit from Endangered Species Act protection drew attention away from the watchdog agency that defends threatened species—and is in peril itself. The budget has been slashed, open jobs go unfilled, and the fate of hundreds of plant and animal species hangs in the balance. The LA Times looks at the troubled Fish and Wildlife Service. More »
  
  Tags
  
  endangered species • Endangered Species Act • Interior Department • endangered species list • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
March 2007
- Endangered Species May Get Bush Brush-Off
  
  Salon | Mar 27, 07 7:41 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Bush administration is quietly rewriting the rules on enforcing the Endangered Species Act, drafting changes that some environmentalists say will fatally weaken protections for threatened wildlife. A 117-page internal proposal obtained by Salon would limit which animals could be effectively protected, cut back on the size of habitats preserved, and shift enforcement from the federal government to the states. More »
  
  Tags
  
  Bush administration • environmentalism • animal • endangered species • wildlife • species • Endangered Species Act • threatened species