What happened in November? Join Jay Petrequin to find out!
Transcript:
Bad news for Florida wildlife. Contested lands in Alaska. And an uncertain future for all. I’m Jay Petrequin and this is your Wildlife News for November 2024.
Florida voters affirmed Amendment 2 to the state’s constitution, a wholly unnecessary amendment disguised as an effort to preserve the right to fishing and hunting, which now positions fishing and hunting as the preferred means to managing and controlling fish and wildlife.
This amendment is politically motivated and written in ways that remove science from wildlife management in Florida. By voting this amendment into the state’s constitution, the stage has been set for conflicts, confusion and uncertainty that will harm populations of species like panthers, sea turtles, black bears, sharks and more.
Over in Alaska, conservation groups are outraged by a Department of the Interior proposal to trade away congressionally-designated wilderness lands within the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge to allow construction of a road. The Secretary of the Interior does not have the authority to privatize refuge wilderness lands to allow roads, and to do so undermines the purposes of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act and the Izembek refuge.
Any exchange of Izembek Refuge wilderness lands to allow a road would harm this world-class wetland and sets a dangerous precedent allowing future secretaries to trade away prized Alaska public lands to private parties for their gain.
And lastly, on November 6th former president Donald Trump was once again elected president. We know the incoming administration will push a legislative and regulatory agenda that is designed to dismantle bedrock conservation laws like the Endangered Species Act and destroy the wildlife and habitat we cherish.
Thankfully, however, we not only have allies on Capitol Hill who value wildlife and wish to preserve it for future generations, but also a game plan in place to ensure wildlife isn’t sidelined in the tumultuous months ahead. We’ll continue advocating to protect wildlife on all fronts – in the courts, on the ground and in Congress.
Head to defenders.org/newsroom for more wildlife news and please help us defend wildlife by subscribing and sharing this video. Thanks and see you next time.
Defenders Of Wildlife works on the ground, in the courts, and on Capitol Hill to protect and restore imperiled wildlife and habitats across North America.
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