David Henkin, Attorney, Mid-Pacific Office: “In the Antiquities Act, Congress gave the President the authority to create national monuments, not to dismantle them.”
We respectfully submit the following brief in the name of the Earthjustice International Program in response to the call for inputs on oceans and human rights in preparation of a thematic report to be presented to the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council.
Alaska tribal organizations express disappointment over the ruling, which allows fisheries managers to use older studies resulting in poor fisheries decisions favoring commercial trawling over subsistence harvests
Drew Caputo, VP of Litigation for Lands, Oceans, Wildlife: “Industry cannot stand that their ability to profit is sometimes limited by the need to protect wildlife that has been on earth for millions of years. The harsh reality is that extinction means forever.”
Alaska U.S. District Court ruling from March 11, 2025 finding that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) can continue to rely on nearly 20-year-old environmental studies to inform federal management of the massive pollock trawling industry in the Bering Sea and Aleutians Islands.
Ian Dooley, Attorney, Alaska Office: “This would be the first land exchange under ANILCA that allows for divesting protected lands out of a conservation system unit for the purpose of putting a road through it. That has never happened before.”
Steve Mashuda, Managing Attorney, Oceans Program: “We’re at a point with Rice’s whales where we need to be doing everything possible within our power to save this species. Slowing vessels down just as they’re transiting this narrow band of Rice’s Whale habitat in the Gulf of Mexico is a thing that can be done immediately.…
Steve Mashuda, Managing Attorney, Oceans Program: “If you’re concerned about whales being harmed by offshore energy, I’ve got a whale in the Gulf of Mexico I’d like you to meet. The Deepwater Horizon spill killed close to a quarter of the population alone. The Gulf doesn’t belong to the oil industry, the Gulf belongs to…
The Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, alongside conservation groups, filed a motion to join a lawsuit to defend Yellowstone National Park’s science-based bison management plan.
Emily Qiu, Attorney, Northern Rockies Office: “While we cannot speak specifically to the impact of staff cuts, we do appreciate that this deal should allow for a much needed review of the status of Arctic grayling, which we’re confident will show that the species needs protections.”
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals approved a motion from the federal government to dismiss its appeal of a decision limiting road building in grizzly bear and bull trout habitat in Flathead National Forest.
