Endangered Earth: Big Week in Court for Coral, Mussels and Kids

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Center in Court for Imperiled Coral, Salamanders and More

This week our legal team was extra busy defending creatures of all shapes and sizes.

The Center for Biological Diversity launched lawsuits for Hawaiian cauliflower coral, endangered California salmon, salamanders in central Texas, and the ancient lake sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River.

We also made important steps forward in previous lawsuits. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to protect "critical habitat" for four endangered freshwater mussels — a necessary safeguard that will also make for healthier rivers in 18 states. And we scored a major victory in our suit to stop the Kaibab National Forest from letting lead ammunition poison highly endangered California condors.

You can support this lifesaving work with a donation to our Endangered Species Act Protection Fund.

Take Action: West Coast Orcas to Be Hurt by Navy War Games

The U.S. Navy is planning massive training exercises in the Pacific that could injure thousands of marine mammals. These activities include sonar, explosives, air combat and torpedo testing along the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington.

West Coast orcas are already in crisis and can't afford more stress. Sonar and other noise from these war games can deafen and kill whales. They also interfere with communication and feeding.

Tell the Navy to change its plans and avoid harming whales and other ocean life.

Scientists Find Major Flaws in Trump Wolf Delisting Plan

A panel of researchers appointed by the Trump administration's Fish and Wildlife Service has weighed in on its plan to strip protection from most gray wolves in the lower 48: Turns out the science behind the plan doesn't hold up.

Wolves haven't fully recovered from their near-extermination, and removing their protection would likely be premature, the experts said.

Read about it in The Washington Post.

In the United States, which costs more to feed — a housecat or a cow? The answer may surprise you. Check out this video on Facebook or YouTube and get more from The Revelator.

Center Awarded $72,000 Grant by CREDO Mobile

The Center has received a grant of more than $72,000 from CREDO Mobile — with the help of your votes. Since 1985 CREDO has donated more than $87 million to progressive organizations fighting for women's rights, economic justice, voting rights and the environment.

"We're deeply grateful for the support of CREDO members," said Center Executive Director Kierán Suckling. "This grant will help us keep resisting Trump's anti-wildlife agenda in every way possible, especially in the courts."

Read more in our press release — and thank you for voting.

The Revelator: Meet the Extinction Deniers

Climate deniers, both bought and unbought, have done extraordinary damage to our chances of a livable future. As the extinction crisis starts getting more mainstream attention, writes John Platt in The Revelator, a wave of extinction deniers is now making its presence felt — from the right-wing blogosphere to the halls of Congress.

Read more and sign up for The Revelator's weekly e-newsletter.

Youth v. Gov.: Groundbreaking Lawsuit Moves Forward

Juliana, et al. v. United States, a lawsuit filed against the federal government by 21 children and climate scientist James Hansen in 2015, argues that future generations have a constitutional right to live in a safe environment — a right that's being violated by harmful policy on climate. The Center signed onto a friend-of-the-court brief filed by Earthjustice in the case. This week arguments on both sides were heard by a federal appeals court in Portland, Ore.

Read about it in The New York Times.

New Bill Would Protect Grand Canyon From Uranium Mining

Did you know that for its entire 100-year history, Grand Canyon National Park has been polluted by uranium mining?

On lands around the park, both active and inactive mines poison air, water, soil and communities. The water right below the canyon rim is radioactive. Just south of the park boundary, migratory birds bathe and feed in contaminated mine water. Nobody knows for sure if that contamination is polluting the deep aquifers that feed Grand Canyon's springs. Yet the uranium industry is pushing for more mines.

But there's hope: A bill introduced by Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) could finally protect the Grand Canyon from dirty mining.

Learn more from Center Public Lands Program Director Randi Spivak.

Tiny Fish Scores Big Habitat Protections

Following a Center lawsuit, the Fish and Wildlife Service announced safeguards for 1,330 acres and 6.7 stream miles of spring pygmy sunfish habitat in Alabama. Habitat destruction is the biggest threat to this little fish. We petitioned to protect it under the Endangered Species Act 10 years ago.

"These habitat protections will help guide the sunfish back from the brink of extinction and onto the path to recovery," said Center lawyer Elise Bennett.

Get more from WAFF 48 News.

Suit Aims to Save Tejon, One of California's Last Grasslands

After decades of controversy, Los Angeles County has approved construction of a sprawl development called Centennial in the beautiful meadows of Tejon Ranch. So the Center and allies have sued under the California Environmental Quality Act.

The 19,000-home planned community would worsen pollution and be in a high-risk zone for dangerous wildfires like Camp and Woolsey. It would destroy the habitat of rare and endangered species including condors, burrowing owls and pronghorn.

Read more in Los Angeles magazine.

Wild & Weird: The Captivating Coleman's Coralroot

Deep in the heart of the Southwest's Santa Rita Mountains lives one of the planet's rarest flowers: the Coleman's coralroot. Only a few hundred individual plants are believed to survive, in a few tiny areas in southern Arizona and New Mexico. Each plant spends most of its life hidden underground, then sends up a single stalk of beautiful blooms. Instead of using photosynthesis, it gets its energy from a fungus that grows on the roots of Arizona white oaks.

This rarest of flowers is also among our most beautiful — as you can see in a new Center video we were lucky to capture this spring, hiking the borderlands.

Watch it on Facebook or YouTube.

Center for Biological Diversity | Saving Life on Earth

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Photo credits: Cauliflower coral by Mark Sullivan/USFWS; Southern Resident orca and calf courtesy NOAA; wolf by bkoger/Flickr; kitty Sarge by Dipika Kadaba/Center for Biological Diversity; polar bear and cub by Alan D. Wilson/Nature's Pics Online; skeletons by Paul Brennan/Pixabay; Youth v. Gov. press conference by Noya Fields/Flickr; Grand Canyon by danniao/Flickr; spring pygmy sunfish courtesy Conservation Fisheries; Tejon Ranch courtesy California Department of Fish and Wildlife; Coleman's coralroot by Russ McSpadden/Center for Biological Diversity.

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