Media Center

Lawsuit Seeks to Protect Marine Mammals from Foreign Fishing Gear, Enforce Seafood Import Bans  

August 8, 2024 Press ReleaseNew York City

Conservation groups sued several federal officials and departments today in the US Court of International Trade over their failure to implement the import provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The provisions’ purpose is to protect marine mammals from…

Woodwell a ‘Towering Giant’ of Climate Science

June 20, 2024 Press ReleaseUnited States

WASHINGTON - Pioneering climate scientist and founding board member of NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) George Woodwell died June 18.

Supreme Court Rejects Lawsuit to Reverse EPA Protections for Bristol Bay

January 8, 2024 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

The United States Supreme Court today rejected the State of Alaska’s unusual lawsuit seeking to challenge, directly in that court, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Water Act veto of the Pebble Mine. The decision means any challenge to EPA’s…

Report: U.S. Must Ban Seafood From 11 Nations Over Whale, Dolphin Deaths 

November 30, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

A report issued today by conservation groups finds that 11 nations have at least some fisheries that fail to meet U.S. standards for preventing whale and dolphin bycatch. Entanglement in fishing gear kills hundreds of thousands of marine mammals around…

240 Groups Urge Biden Administration to Take Bold Action on Plastic Pollution

November 9, 2023 Press ReleaseUnited States

As negotiations for a global plastics treaty are scheduled to resume in Nairobi, Kenya, 240 U.S. environmental, public health, and other NGOs sent a letter to the Biden administration today calling for stricter limits on plastic pollution and a crackdown…

NOAA Denies Key Protections in Fight to Protect Rice’s Whale

October 31, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

On Friday, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries denied a petition to establish a 10-knot vessel speed limit and other protective measures in the Gulf of Mexico to protect the endangered Rice’s whale, which is estimated to have a…

President Biden Can Take Action to Eliminate Shipping Emissions and Advance Environmental Justice

October 2, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

In a letter sent to President Biden on World Maritime Day, 32 organizations called for an Executive Order to decarbonize maritime shipping. The Biden administration has already made significant commitments to eliminate emissions from the shipping industry, as well as…

Exposing Even More Gulf Waters to Drilling “is the last thing we need – and the last place we need it.”

September 29, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced plans to expand the waters available in the Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling, as part of the new five-year leasing plan that will take effect in 2024.

NRDC Digital Tool Tracks Political Opposition to Offshore Drilling

September 21, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is launching an updated digital tool today to help people track where their Members of Congress stand on offshore oil and gas drilling. The Biden administration is expected to release a final five-year plan for federal…

More than 150,000 People Called on Biden Administration to Fully Restore Endangered Species Act

August 21, 2023 Press ReleaseUnited States

More than 150,000 people are calling on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to fully restore the Endangered Species Act (ESA), following proposed regulations that resulted from federal lawsuits challenging harmful regulations…

Feds Propose New Critical Habitat Designation for Endangered Whale 

July 21, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

The National Marine Fisheries Service has submitted a proposed rule designating critical habitat for the highly endangered Rice’s whale. With only approximately 50 whales remaining, Rice’s whales are among the most endangered whales in the world, making this habitat designation essential…

President Biden Declines to Embargo Products from Mexico for Vaquita Violation

July 18, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

President Biden announced yesterday that he will not embargo products from Mexico despite its failure to halt the illegal wildlife trade threatening the critically endangered vaquita porpoise. The decision responds to the Secretary of the Interior’s recent certification under the…

Agencies Propose Rollbacks of Endangered Species Act Rollbacks

June 21, 2023 Press ReleaseUnited States

In response to a federal lawsuit, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service released draft revisions to regulations governing protections under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The updates address Trump Administration efforts in 2019 to undermine…

United States Finds Mexico Is Undermining Wildlife Treaty, May Impose Embargo

May 26, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that Mexico has failed to halt the illegal wildlife trade threatening the critically endangered vaquita porpoise, diminishing the effectiveness of an international wildlife treaty. Under U.S. law, President Biden must now decide…

Marine Mammal Bycatch in Ecuador’s Fisheries Threatens Access to U.S. Seafood Market

May 10, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

A report released today by conservation and animal protection groups finds that Ecuador’s fishing industry does not meet U.S. standards for limiting whale and dolphin bycatch. As a result, Ecuador may lose access to the U.S. seafood import market for…

U.S. to Decide Whether Mexico's Failure to Protect Vaquita Warrants Embargo

April 10, 2023 Press ReleaseNew York

In a settlement filed in court Friday, the U.S. Department of the Interior agreed to determine whether Mexico has failed to stop illegal fishing and trade of totoaba that is driving the vaquita porpoise’s extinction. The determination could result in…

Biden Administration Issues Visionary Conservation Measures

March 21, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON — As part of a larger package of land and ocean conservation measures, the Biden administration today announced the first Ocean Climate Action Plan, which includes a host of initiatives relating to responsible offshore wind, marine protected areas to enhance biodiversity…

Big Wins for Endangered Orcas in Defense Spending Bill

December 15, 2022 Press ReleaseUnited States

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The federal government will invest in multiple programs to protect endangered whales as part of a massive spending bill approved this week and signed by President Biden. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes several provisions that…

Tribes, Commercial Fishermen, & Conservation Groups Respond to EPA’s Next Step Towards Protecting Bristol Bay

December 2, 2022 Press ReleaseAlaska

DILLINGHAM, AK — Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its Recommended Determination regarding the Pebble deposit for Bristol Bay. This marks the next step in the process for EPA to stop Pebble Mine by enacting 404(c) Clean Water Act…

Biden Administration Should Strengthen National Marine Sanctuary Protections, Conservation and Faith Groups Say

November 22, 2022 Press ReleaseUnited States

WASHINGTON - Ten conservation and faith-based organizations, consisting of millions of members, are petitioning the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to strengthen the National Marine Sanctuary System, which America’s iconic underwater parks and the species that live in our…