Biodiversity

"President Trump finalized a major overhaul Wednesday of one of the country’s most consequential environmental laws on the grounds that it has slowed the construction of highways, pipelines and other major projects across the country. The sweeping changes to the 50-year-old National Environmental Policy Act, which opponents have vowed to fight in court and reverse if Democrats regain control of the executive and legislative branches this fall, underscore the stakes in this year’s election."

"The North Atlantic right whale is “one step from extinction,” an international group of governments and scientists declared Thursday, slightly more than a month after President Trump lifted restrictions on commercial fishing in a key area of the whale’s habitat."

"In a win for conservation interests and tribal nations, a panel of federal judges Wednesday upheld a decision to restore grizzly bear protections in the Yellowstone region."

"For the first time in nearly 50 years, California condors have been spotted at Sequoia National Park, wildlife officials announced."

"Humpbacks are some of the most watched whales in the world, and yet so much of their lives remains a mystery."

"The federal government on Tuesday decided to scrap plans to reintroduce grizzly bears to the North Cascades ecosystem in Washington state."

"Dozens of Brazilian corporations are calling for a crackdown on illegal logging in the Amazon rainforest, expressing their concerns in a letter Tuesday to the vice president, who heads the government’s council on that region."

"The European Union-Mercosur free trade agreement, finalized one year ago last June, faces growing opposition from European national governments, EU parliamentarians, and non-profit organizations, in addition to Latin American entities, putting its ratification at risk. "