Category: Press Room

USFWS cuts northern spotted owl critical habitat by 42% in likely death sentence for species

January 13, 2021 — Today, with six days remaining in the Trump administration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a final rule eliminating 3.4 million acres of critical habitat for the northern spotted owl in Washington state, Oregon, and California. This decision comes one month after the Service announced that the species should be uplisted from threatened to endangered, but the agency is too busy to provide these desperately needed protections. The elimination of 42% of the endangered species’ critical habitat would likely result in extinction for the northern spotted owl in the U.S. This final rule results from a sweetheart settlement between the Trump administration and the timber industry.

USFWS: Northern spotted owls are endangered, but we’re too busy to help

December 14, 2020 — Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a finding on the northern spotted owl’s listing status, spurred by a lawsuit filed last week by wildlife advocates. The finding states “reclassification of the northern spotted owl from a threatened species to an endangered species is warranted but precluded by higher priority actions to amend the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants. We will develop a proposed rule to reclassify the northern spotted owl as our priorities allow.”

Time’s up: Feds missed deadlines for years, harming imperiled northern spotted owls

December 8, 2020 — Today, a group of wildlife advocates filed a complaint in federal district court against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) for falling to take multiple actions required by the Endangered Species Act to protect the northern spotted owl from extinction.

Victory! Court rules GE Salmon Approval Unlawful!

November 10, 2020 — On November 5, 2020, a federal court ruled in favor of Cascadia Wildlands’ lawsuit that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) violated core federal laws when it approved the first-ever genetically engineered (GE) animal: a GE salmon! This decision is a huge victory for wild salmon, the environment, and our fishing communities.

Wolves: Groups Will Challenge Trump Admin Removal of Endangered Species Protections in Lower 48

October 29, 2020 — Today, the Trump administration will announce its decision to prematurely remove endangered species protections for wolves in the lower 48 states, in violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The most recent data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its state partners show an estimated 4,400 wolves inhabit the western Great Lakes states, but only 108 wolves in Washington state, 158 in Oregon, and a scant 15 in California. These numbers lay the groundwork for a legal challenge planned by a coalition of Western conservation groups.

Environmental, public health, and social justice groups file legal challenge against DHS citing lack of analysis on impacts of teargas to human health and the environment

October 20, 2020 — With no regard for health or safety, the federal government blatantly violated federal environmental law when it flooded Portland and the surrounding communities with an unprecedented amount of dangerous chemical weapons, a lawsuit filed today by a broad coalition of environmental justice and civil rights advocates alleges.

Cascadia Wildlands Seeks a Wildlands Director

WILDLANDS DIRECTOR POSITION
This position uses legal, administrative and grassroots organizing tools and science to protect imminently threatened wildlands, waters and species. Working in coordination with program staff, the Wildlands Director monitors land management and policy proposals and engages in the public comment process to help shape planning outcomes and build legal records to protect biodiversity in Cascadia.

Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission Petitioned to End Beaver Trapping and Hunting on Federal Land

September 10, 2020 — Conservation groups filed a petition today asking the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission to permanently close commercial and recreational beaver trapping and hunting on the state’s federally managed public lands and the waters that flow through them. Beavers are Oregon’s official state animal, but they can be legally hunted and trapped with few limits.