‘Extinction is Forever’ 

painting of smooth purple coneflower, Northern long-eared bat, Guyandotte River crayfish, Roanoke logperch, and yellow lance mussel

Conservation activists are concerned about the Trump administration’s attacks on the Endangered Species Act. From the Eastern hellbender to the Carolina northern flying squirrel, many of Appalachia’s most beloved creatures and plants may soon be at risk.

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‘King of the Darters’ Removed from Endangered Species List 

Roanoke logperch swimming in a stream

The Roanoke logperch, a striking, large freshwater fish found in a handful of watersheds in Virginia and North Carolina, is no longer on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s endangered species list. It’s a sign of the fish population’s improvement. But some individuals and environmental and conservation organizations see its removal from Endangered Species Act protections — rather than moving from “endangered” to “threatened” status — as premature.

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Lawsuit filed to save imperiled Appalachian species from coal mining

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 8, 2023 CONTACT Perrin de Jong, Center for Biological Diversity, perrin@biologicaldiversity.org Dan Radmacher, Appalachian Voices, dan@appvoices.org CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Center for Biological Diversity and Appalachian Voices today sued the U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to protect highly imperiled…

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Lawsuit launched to protect endangered crayfish pushed to the brink of extinction by coal mining in Appalachia

The Center for Biological Diversity and Appalachian Voices filed a formal notice today of their intent to sue the U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failure to protect the endangered Guyandotte River crayfish and the threatened Big Sandy crayfish from coal mining pollution. Both species are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

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