Wildlife

"The Bureau of Land Management has revised an Obama-era policy directing agency field offices to prioritize oil and natural gas leasing and drilling projects outside of the most sensitive greater sage grouse habitat."

"A ban on all sales of ivory products in China [came] into force on Sunday, a move hailed by conservationists as an important step in the fight to protect endangered species such as African elephants."

"Even as climate change shrinks some populations of arctic animals like polar bears and caribou, beavers may be taking advantage of warming temperatures to expand their range. But as the beavers head north, their very presence may worsen the effects of climate change."

"President Trump on Wednesday was poised to sign the new tax bill, passed by Congress, which lifts a decades-old ban on oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Alaska. ... Will exploration begin immediately? No. Both supporters and opponents say it could be years before the first lease sale, a precursor to any drilling."

"The Interior Department is working on possible Endangered Species Act changes, in a move that alarms environmentalists but could gratify Westerners and others unhappy with the current law."

"British Columbia on Monday banned all grizzly bear hunting in the western Canadian province with immediate effect, expanding on its existing ban on trophy hunting."

"The amount of medicinal products containing illegal wildlife tissue seized by EU authorities has risen sharply in the last six years, according to monitoring group TRAFFIC and includes items from a range of animals including tigers, bears and snakes."

"The Fish and Wildlife Service could be thinking twice about how it removed Endangered Species Act protections from Yellowstone-area grizzly bears, thanks to a critical court ruling on wolves."

"Blue whales, grays and humpbacks are traveling south along the California coast this month to their annual breeding grounds in warm Mexican waters. They feed in the same waters where cargo ships travel to some of the world’s busiest ports — and one strike could be deadly."