“This is a barometer and the forecast for right whales could still go either way,” said CLF Senior Attorney Erica Fuller. “With a calf recently found dead of blunt trauma caused by a vessel strike, we’re one step closer to extinction. While this new status doesn’t change legal obligations here at home, it’s a reminder that to save this species, we can’t wait any longer for necessary long term protections.”
After a victory in the first phase of our lawsuit to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales, now we’re asking the court for protective measures in the second phase.
“This death is a tragedy,” said Erica Fuller, CLF Senior Attorney. “Like most of the right whales before it, this one didn’t die of natural causes. NOAA must take the threat of ship strikes seriously. We urgently need more surveillance of whale habitats and mandatory vessel speed restrictions in these areas as soon as possible.”
And this is New England’s only marine monument, one of very few unspoiled areas that can provide resilience and refuge for ocean resources (and a future for fishermen) in a fast-changing climate. Now, only the courts can stop it from being sacrificed for a photo op.
CLF is focused on driving forward a future that is equitable and healthy for all, while also confronting the most urgent environmental threats in the here and now. The work we do, together, in the next five years will lay the foundation for the 50 years that follow.
“Trump has once again eliminated critical natural resource protections on a whim, and with no legal authority,” said Brad Campbell, president of the foundation. “This lawless act upends over a century of practice by presidents of both parties, and puts all national monuments on the block for the highest political bidder.”
“Trump has once again eliminated critical natural resource protections on a whim and with no legal authority,” said CLF President Brad Campbell. “This lawless act upends over a century of practice by presidents of both parties and puts all national monuments on the block for the highest political bidder. CLF is going to court to protect this natural treasure, one that provides resilience, refuge, and hope in one of the fastest-warming bodies of water in the world.”
Thousands of dams, large and small, built over the last 250 years have cut fish off from freshwater spawning grounds, thwarting reproductive cycles that had been ongoing for eons. The impacts of these dams, on top of pollution, overfishing, and climate change, have led to a drastic decline in river herring populations – threatening their survival.
With our country engulfed in anger over police brutality towards black Americans — and with COVID-19 infections still raging nationwide — President Donald Trump spent much of his time here in Maine last week continuing his assault on our public lands and waters.
The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts is the only fully protected area in the U.S. Atlantic Ocean, covering about 1 percent of New England’s waters. Fully protected means no commercial fishing, no sand and gravel mining, no oil and gas drilling, no industrial development of any kind. Free from these threats, a rich diversity of ocean wildlife… Continue reading President Trump Illegally Stripped Protections for New England’s Marine Monument.
